


Project Libitina: Dead Men.

by Twixster



Series: PL [4]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: DM is interesting, Have fun with DM, Monika is a badass, Psychological Trauma, War, but she's also a dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-05-05 01:06:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 27,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14605833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twixster/pseuds/Twixster
Summary: Now a few months into the future, Monika is released. She wages war.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to DM! DM is long. Like, 50 chapters or so? Yeah. Have fun~!
> 
> huuuuuuuge time skip. Like huge. A couple months in the future.

They all gathered in the back of the stolen truck, a single lamp illuminating the cargo area on a crate.

MC grabbed unrolled a map of the second and third floor and put it on the box, right in front of the group. He pointed using his pen.

“You all know what to do, and how to do it. We can’t fail. Yuri…” MC glanced at Yuri. “Are you  _sure_  that you want to do this? Sayori can always bring you back…” Yuri shook her head.

“No, Mark. I  _have_  to do this. For the good of Monika. I know how to control it now. I just… I just need to shut out hatred. Focus. I’ll be backing you up.” MC nodded and turned to Sayori.

“Remember… Get your music box back when we get Monika… Get out quick. I don’t know what kind of trauma Monika’s been through, and you seem like the best person to help me get through to her.”

“I’ll do my best, MC! Monnie’s counting on me!” She beamed. MC then looked to Natsuki.

“Natsuki, since you’re smallest-”

“I’ll be sneaking into the offices and cutting off power to the building, planting explosives wherever they might help, watching you guys through cameras. Locking doors. I know.” MC smiled. Alex was last.

“Alex, if one of us is hit, you patch ‘em up and keep ‘em alive. Cover Sayori when she’s going for her box. I’ll be going on the frontal assault towards room 126. Is Charlie going to be the best for this…?” Alex scoffed.

“Of course he is. He’s the best dog I’ve had.” He patted Charlie on the head. “That truck you stole should supply us, correct?” MC hummed in approval.

“Yep. We’ve got plenty of ammo and other important gear. If anything goes wrong, you know what to do.” He handed each person a pair of night-vision goggles. “Since Natsuki’s shutting off the power, you’ll need these. Remember to use the lasers on your rifles to aim. These things make it impossible to use your sights, and don’t forget the narrow field of view, guys–”

“Connors, we know. You already taught us this stuff.” Natsuki smiles. “It’s gonna be fine.”

MC breathes out. “Okay. Weapons check. We’ve all got our rifles? And they’re zeroed in?” Nods all around. “We’ve all got spare mags and canteens? Medical kits are set up?” More nods. “And we have the radio freqs down? Yeah?” More nods with some eye rolls. “Nat, you’ve got your goodie bag all packed?”

“Yep,” she says, beaming. “Ten pounds of Explodaline, some shaped charges to disable vehicles, a breaching charge for the cell, plenty of blasting caps and fuse. Those cultist pricks are gonna meet Nemesis in person!”

“Good. Okay, let’s go get Monnie out.”

The doors open, and the group slips outside, hunched down, moving quickly and quietly. The novelty hasn’t gone away yet for the girls, but to MC and Alex, it’s just another raid. They approach the gate after a few minutes, and Sayori and Alex look around as MC and Natsuki creep in close to the gate, Yuri ready to provide covering fire. They draw their suppressed weapons and take aim, then fire at the same time, two quick double-taps to the head. He goes down, and they move in closer and drag the body back into the guardbox. “Move up,” MC whispers over his radio, and the rest of the group rolls up.

“‘Suki, go,” he says, and Natsuki shoots under the gate, moving quickly. She quickly moves to the ventilation undetected. All security protocols insist on having control rooms and generators on third floors, along with the offices, where Monika-

No.

_Focus, Nat._

She removes the panel and crawls inside, up to the third floor. She listens into the generator room.  _One guard. Simple enough._

She jumps down from the vent, seeing a guard turn, shocked, and shoots him twice in the chest. He stumbles, and she shoots him again in the head. He collapses, and Natsuki moves to the circuit breaker, opening the panel and hitting all the switches, turning it all off. Everything goes dark, and she flips the night vision down from her helmet, seeing her world become bathed in a ghostly green glow. “Power is out,” she says, and steps out of the room.  _Across the hall,_  Natsuki thinks.  _Entrance to a new vent. Go._  She darts out of the room, opening the panel to the next vent and crawling in.

Eventually, she finds the security office. There’s only one guard inside. She slips down from the vent, hanging her feet over his head, and then lets go, dropping on to him and pinning him to the ground. She puts the barrel of her gun to his head and shoots twice, two very satisfying pops. Natsuki stands up and walks to the camera monitors. She should be able to see the whole camp.

But she can’t, because the cameras are off. “Black Hole, this is Nemesis,” she says. “Cameras are dead. Can’t surveil the camp.”

“Roger,” MC radios back.  _How could I have been so stupid!_  he thinks.  _Of course the cameras are down, Natsuki killed their power._  “Place charges on any targets of opportunity and proceed to the rally point.”

“Wilco,” she says, and starts trying to jump back into the vent. With all the heavy gear–thirty pounds at least–weighing her down, she can’t make it.  _Something to climb on, maybe?_  She drags the chair over and uses it to climb back into the vent.

“Okay,” MC whispers. “Let’s go.” The four of them and Charlie get up and start moving through the camp, staying low. They find the vent again, working in silence, communicating by hand signals only. They enter the vent, crawling slowly, trying not to make noise, then drop down quickly into the security room, where Natsuki is waiting. “Situation?” he asks.

“Charges emplaced on the radio mast, and I have a dust bomb ready to go in the kitchen,” she whispers, grinning ear-to-ear.

Dust explosions are no joke. One of those can level a house, and all you need is the right kind of bomb and a bag of flour.

“Roger,” MC says. “Let’s do it.”

The five of them burst out into the hallway, two guards at each end. MC shoots fast, a nice quick double tap, the others doing the same. “Clear!” come the shouts as they move through, clearing every room. Most of those are empty, but in one there’s an office drone who charges MC and Yuri. Brave man. Yuri smashes her rifle forward, and the barrel catches him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. MC kneels down, zip-ties his hands together, and then moves out of the room. Alex, Sayori, and Natsuki have their half clear. “Downstairs!” MC shouts, and the group moves at a not-quite run to the doors. A guard throws the stairwell door open, and Charlie pounces on him, biting his arm in a death grip. The guard dies from an acute headache induced by Alex, and the attackers sweep down the stairwell and burst onto the landing, alarms blaring.

“Flashbang!” MC calls, and Alex moves in, grenade in hand. He throws the door open, and Alex pulls the pin, flicks the safety spoon away, and throws the grenade. It explodes in a blinding flash with a massive bang, and the group rushes into the hallway, guns blazing. “Clear!” Alex shouts, everyone yelling their heads off, shock and awe and flashes and explosions everywhere. There’s an earth-shaking kaboom as Natsuki triggers off her explosives, disabling trucks, tearing down the radio antenna, and destroying the kitchen and cafeteria.

“Move to secure the hostage!” MC yells, and the five burst down the hallway, numbers rushing past.  _120, 122, 124, 126,_ Natsuki thinks. She pulls the breaching charge off her back, wires it up, and backs up to the side of the door, the others flattening against it as well. “Fire in the hole!” she yells, and the door blows in with a massive boom, torn off its hinges. Alex and Yuri stay outside and make sure the hallway stays clear while the others burst inside.

MC walks in to find Monika facing the wall. There are straps all over her uniform. Blood pools in several areas of the room. Monika is dead silent, except for occasionally heavy breathing. The group falters as Monika starts to giggle.

“M-Monnie, your-” Sayori stops. Monika turns around slowly, her eye twitching. A smile is plastered on her face. “M-Monnie…? I-It’s us! W-We’re here to-” Monika stands right up, her eyes trained directly at Sayori. Sayori takes a hesitant step backwards. “Monnie? Wh-What are you-”

“Finally. You finally came. After so many months. You’re here. You’re here to join me, right?” She looked upwards. MC gasps. Her… Her eye is  _gone._  She isn’t wearing a uniform, she’s wearing a straightjacket. She’s trembling and laughing.

“I missed you, MC. I love you. I love you I love you I love you…” She repeats, over and over. “But in the t-time you were gone, I’ve been having so much fun! L-L is happy with me, can’t you see it? He gives me the medicine! He rewards me!” Sayori hid in Natsuki’s arm. Natsuki scowls, but steps forward.

“Monika, th-that’s not… We’re here to get you out. Come with us. Those voices will go away.” Monika shakes her head.

“L won’t  _ever_  go away! He won’t… He’ll get very angry with me, like the time I was bad a-and I was tied to a chair…”

“Monika, please…”says MC, “I need my best friend again… Come with us… I missed you… Y-Your voices will go away…”

“W-Wait, Sayori? You’re alive… After all this time…” Monika shrunk again, raising her sleeves over her ears. “You were wrong… You were all wrong…. You can leave now! You can leave… Please...” Sayori is terrified of what happened to her Monnie. The one who took care of her. The one who was always calm under pressure. Now… She was reduced to a screaming, laughing mess.  _B-But… I need to be there for her. I need to be there for Monnie. She needs me, just like I needed her._ Sayori ran towards her and embraced her with a hug.

“Monnie, I missed you too… I love you Monnie, th-those voices are wrong. I think you’re pretty great.” Monika gasped, reality coming back to her. She wasn’t in la la land anymore. This was real. She wasn’t getting anywhere… She wasn’t some magical unicorn or whatever bullshit her brain could make up… Her friends were back. They were here with her again. She was getting out… No more monsters. No more L. No more of this. She hugged Sayori lightly.

“S-Sayori, I-”

“No. No need to talk right now.” Sayori let go and held Monika’s hand. “Let’s get out of here first.”

Monika smiled.

_”You ready, my sheep?”_

_Ready as I’ll ever be. This place wasn’t helpful… Not one bit. They never helped me… They hurt me. Look at me._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC gets Monika out.

Monika was handed a Glock as they dashed down the hallways, MC leading the way, Monika and Sayori in the middle, followed by Yuri, Natsuki and Alex. MC gestured to the office to their right.  _Dr. Libitina._  Sayori glanced over to Alex and he nodded. They both split off from the main group and burst through the door.

_Empty._

It was normal, paperwork and blood everywhere. The light was off. On top of one of the shelves, Sayori could see it.

“M-Mama!” She squealed. Alex jumped up and grabbed the box off the top of the shelf and handed it to Sayori, who coddled it in her arms. “I missed you, Mama…” Charlie barked, bringing them both back into reality. They ran back out the room, finding the group covering the hall in front of them.

“Let’s go!” Alex shouted, and they moved down the hall, rifles up and scanning. MC kicked down the stairwell door and burst through, firing on the move, Yuri and Natsuki joining in. Two guards fell, and they kept moving, bursting onto the first floor. They were outnumbered by a lot, and despite the darkness and confusion, there were enough guards left to matter.

The group rushed through the hall, lasers playing out over the walls, scanning around for targets, a guard popped out, flashlight a thousand times brighter in the green glow of the NVGs, and absorbed five or six rounds, collapsing him. More guards came and died, but some lived long enough to get off a shot or two.

 _This is bad,_  MC thought. Surprise was gone. All that was left was speed and raw violence to get them through this.  _Well, nothing’s perfect._  The group burst through the doors to the outside, being greeted with a hail of bullets, muzzle flashes bright points of light. MC and Yuri shot and shot, covering the others as they ran for the parking lot. Once they got there, Alex and Natsuki turned and fired, covering MC and Yuri’s sprint, both of them changing magazines on the run.

“Got to get to the gate!” MC shouted, straining to be heard over the loud sound of gunfire. “Alex, Yuri, with me! We’re gonna leapfrog, just like I taught you guys! Shoot on the run, let’s go!” He hopped up, gun blazing, rounds snapping past his head, making a cracking sound like someone breaking dry sticks right by his ears, and sprinted, Alex and Yuri in tow. They finally made it to the gate, and turned to shoot, guards falling as they fired, the other three running like cheating husbands.

 _Shitshitshitshitshit,_  Monika thought.  _Oh my god, I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. Oh, jesus._  But she reached the gate, and MC flashed her a wide, cocky grin, Alex still shooting. “We got this, Monnie! Five hundred meters, then we’re home free! FRAG OUT!” he screamed, throwing a grenade, then ducking for cover. It went off with a bang, shrapnel whizzing past Monika’s head. She ducked, and Natsuki knelt down, placing something.

“Mine set!” she yelled.

“Start the clock!” MC called, and Natsuki let go of– _a watch hand?_  Monika thought.  _Well, she knows what she’s doing. MC taught her well._  “Yuri, Sayo, cover!” he shouted, and the two of them stood up and shot while the other four ran, moving fast, hunched down, Alex shepherding Monika out. The road was open, but there was cover, and Sayori changed magazines while Alex and MC shot.

“Hey, Alex!” MC called. “Thought you guys usually shot the hostage before completing the mission!”

“Fuck you!” Alex shouted back, and the two of them laughed. “Move!” the Russian called, and the four of them stood up and sprinted to the next set of concrete dividers, the guards getting their act together and pursuing correctly now, firing bursts, not caring about conserving ammo. They had more, after all.

“Connors, we’re getting pinned down!” Natsuki shouted.

“Then your mine didn’t detonate!” he shouted back. There was a loud boom, and screams as guards were shredded by a hundred nails moving at thousands of feet per second. “Or maybe it did,” he said quietly, to himself.

“Mark, we need to move!” Alex yelled. MC nodded.

“Okay, let’s go! Just run, forget cover, forget shooting back! Run!” He popped up and started shooting, a steady sound amongst all the yelling and shouting and alarms blaring and bullets flying, then turned and ran, moving fast, arm around Monika, sheltering her.

“Hey, Connors, I can put down a charge to cover our escape!” Natsuki shouted.

“How soon?!” MC yelled.

“Ten seconds ago!” she called back.

MC’s eyes got very wide.

“RUN FASTER!” he screamed, and everyone picked up the pace, sprinting and sprinting and sprinting, running until it felt like their legs were about to disintegrate.

Finally, they reached the trees.

“Okay!” MC yelled as they took cover. “New mags, then we’ll move right to the truck. Gonna be a hot extract.”

“No problem, Connors!” Natsuki yelled. “We got this!” The guards kept running, still behind, not close enough to hit the group yet. Submachine guns are like that. Not a lot of range. Hundred meter maximum. Rifles, on the other hand, are good from three hundred to five hundred depending on type. Alex and Yuri popped up, shooting. Guards fell, but there were more and more and more. It was like trying to kill the ocean by drinking it.

“FRAG OUT!” Alex yelled, throwing a grenade. Yuri repeated the call, throwing one of her own. Two seconds later, two explosions and screams. The guards kept getting closer.

“Mark!” Monika shouted. “We have to go!”

“Okay!” he said. “Let’s move!” They ran deeper into the forest, still being pursued. Half of the group would take cover behind some trees and shoot while the other half ran for new cover. Once the other half got there, the first half would turn and run while the others shot. Simple tactics.

 _No, no, no!_  Monika thought. The world started to close in around her.  _It’s over. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m gonna die. I’ve killed them. They’ll die because of me–_

“Hey, Monnie!” Mark yelled. “We got this!” He flashed a cocky fuck-the-world grin, less a smirk than bared teeth, the kind that said ‘We’re all coming out, all of us.’ And for a second, Monika felt safe for the first time in a very long while.

And then his head snapped back, and a neat red hole appeared in Mark’s forehead, and he died.

“NO!” Monika screamed. She tried to run over to it, but Alex held her.

“Cyka, stop it! They’ll kill you!” he said.

“I DON’T CARE!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. “MARK! NO! COME BACK! COME BACK!” She tried to run again, but Alex had her in a death grip.

“Fucking  _hell_ , girl, do you want him to have died for nothing!” Monika sank to her knees, still sobbing, and Alex started shooting again. She ran over anyway, cradling Mark’s lifeless body in her arms, flipping up his goggles, whispering in his ears the same words, over and over. Mark was gone, his mouth open, his eyes open and unblinking, forever staring. Still Monika held him tight, almost like he could make the bad people go away. But he couldn’t. Not anymore.

Yuri stood. Within the middle of the gunshots and screaming. Yuri stood. She took off her helmet and tossed it aside like a cheap plastic toy. Her eyes were pure white, no iris, no pupil. The eyes… They were the same. No pure hatred seemed to radiate. The only thing that came from 501 was the same, calm expression. Everyone faltered. Murmurs started within the cult’s guards.

“How? That’s impossible, she shouldn’t be able to do that…”

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

“I’ve seen carriers under the influence of the eye… But never… Never like this…”

Everything seemed to freeze. Silence. Pure silence. The only noise was the trees rustling lightly in the wind. No one dared to move. Her eyes were captivating… Instead of pure hatred emerging from her, it was somewhat peaceful. Tranquil. Tranquil turned to panicked within moments as 501 moved silently to a guard yards in front of her. He started to back up, suddenly forgetting he had a gun to blast 501’s head apart. 501 grabbed the guard’s shaking wrist. Apparently, everyone seemed to forget they had weapons until 501 stared directly at Alex.

 _”Run. Get out whilst I distract them, quickly.”_  Alex heard Yuri’s voice in his head, somehow. He nodded, looking down at the limp body of his friend in Monika’s arms, who became silent as well. She just gazed at MC, like he was still moving. Alex grabbed Mark’s body from Monika’s arms and started to run out to the truck. Monika stayed in the same position on the ground, looking at the same spot where Mark once was. Sayori grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. She looked up at Alex with tears glimmering in her eyes.

“L-Lead us out, Minoyan.” Sayori croaked. Alex smiled glumly and continued onwards. Natsuki followed along in shocked silence. It just happened.  _He’s… He’s gone._  Natsuki gulped and looked back at Yuri, who had the man on the ground, dead. No bloodshed, no cuts, nothing. Just lifeless on the ground. 501 looked back at Natsuki and smiled. Natsuki felt more at peace when they smiled at her… Like a thousand stars twinkling in the night sky. She turned around and bolted after everyone else.

The other guards met the same fate. Not a single drop of blood got on 501’s jacket. They just fell as soon as 501 touched them. They seemed to gravitate towards her, leaving their weapons on the ground. No reinforcements came. Just as the last guard dropped to the floor, 501 took a deep breath in, and Yuri exhaled out. She looked around to the ten or so guards sprawled out on the floor.  _I hope the reinforcements stay back long enough,_  she thought as she grabbed a submachine gun and ammo from a dead guard. She left the scene sprinting back out the the truck, which was just about to take off. Yuri darted inside as Alex closed the back, panting. She set the guns and ammo in a pile and turned to see Alex setting down MC’s body on the floor, the hole in his head surrounded by blood. Everyone stared down at Mark in silence, except for… Monika…

“What… What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Monika broke the silence. Everyone turned to her in confusion.

“M-Monnie, wh-what? D-D-Don’t you wanna… Say goodbye to Connors…?” Monika turned and glared.

“What did I say? Let’s get out of here. Natsuki, drive.” Natsuki looked at Monika dumbfounded.

“M-Monika, no. We can’t just… We can’t just leave it be, just like th-”

Monika raised her Glock to Natsuki’s head. Natsuki stepped backwards, raising her hands.

**”Now.”**

Natsuki darted to the driver’s seat, speeding away. No one dared to say another word, or look down at what Mark used to be. Monika sat alone, in the corner of the truck, staring into a corner. Sayori took no interest in keeping the silence, so she rewound the box she had longed for for years.

“M-Mama… C’mon…” The song started to play, breaking the quietness of the room. Monika snapped to the music box, pressing her hands over her ears and whining. She jumped up and yanked the music box from Sayori’s hands. Sayori gasped and tackled Monika to the floor, wrestling for the box.

“M-Monnie, ehehe, let go-” Monika now had Sayori pinned to the floor. She kicked the box away and the music faltered. She grabbed a spare pocketknife from a nearby box and held it to Sayori’s neck. Sayori held her breath, looking down at the knife mere inches from her neck.

“Do. Not. Play. That. Again.” She pressed the knife against Sayori’s neck harder and Sayori gasped, now struggling to get free. A trickle of blood ran down her neck.  **”Understood?”**  Sayori nodded frantically and pushed Monika off her, reaching for her box again. Monika was quicker, grabbing the box off the floor and setting it right next to her as she sat down. Sayori shriveled up in despair, curling up into a ball on the floor. Alex and Yuri looked at each other, then to Monika, who was dead silent once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP
> 
> Dead Men? More like DEAD MC AMIRIGHT


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika escapes.

The truck was filled with tense silence. The only time someone dared to speak was when fuel was running low in the tank.

“M-Monika? W-We’re running out of fuel. What do you want me to d-”

“Pull over at the next store. This jacket is disgusting. If there’s a gas station, fill it back up. We’re heading back to this guy’s house to get rid of him.” Monika gestured to Alex, then to MC’s corpse. Natsuki gulped and nodded, speeding off the highway to stop at the local market.

“I-I suggest,” Alex cleared his throat, “I suggest we all get a change of clothing. That  _camp_  can’t know what we look like.” Everyone silently agreed. Natsuki parked the truck and everyone hopped out. Alex pulled out his wallet and gave everyone a fifty. “Try not to spend too much on the outfit. We’re not models.” Everyone dashed inside the store, except for Monika. She had her eye on a car across the parking lot. “Monika,” Alex called out. “Are you coming?” Monika shook her head and gestured him away.

“Make sure they don’t destroy the place. I’ve got the truck.” Alex nodded and sprinted inside.

Yuri was over by the woman’s section browsing through leather jackets too big to fit her. She stopped at a dark purple double breasted coat. She slipped it on.

The sleeves went right over her hands. It was far too big, but Yuri liked it. It was comfortable in some ways. She took the jacket off and kept it in her arms.

She ended up finding a royal purple turtleneck sweater to go underneath, accompanied with ripped jeans.

Sayori zipped through the girl’s section, looking at several jackets way too  _small_  for her. They were simple designs, some of them with classic cartoon characters Sayori didn’t know.  _What’s a… Hello… Kitty…? Meh. I’m sure it doesn’t matter._  One darker color bomber jacket caught her eye at the end of the aisle. She immediately grabbed it, along with a dark pink kid’s shirt and some sweatpants. She raced up to the checkout line.

Natsuki went into the boy’s section, looking at all the lettermen jackets with names of sports teams and names she didn’t care to recognize. They all looked the same, bright color and white sleeves. She went into a seperate area, one with more darker colors. She saw a black letterman jacket, right above her. She jumped up to grab it, knocking off several items. She winced and backed away from the aisle and into the next one, trying on the jacket. To her suprise, it was a perfect fit. She smiled and held it while she looked for something to match.

She found a new black beanie, along with a camouflage t-shirt and black jeans.

Alex had found himself a simple dark green hoodie, along with some extra medical supplies for the road. The rest of the group met up at the front to let Monika off her duties of watching the truck.

Alex dropped his grocery bags as he saw Monika dragging a bloody body onto the truck. He gestured for the rest of the group to stay where they were.

He rushed over to Monika, looking frantically back and forth between her and the corpse. Monika seemed surprisingly calm.

“WH-WHA… I-I LEFT YOU FOR FIVE MINUTES!” he hissed. “Wh-Who… WHAT?” Monika shrugged.

“Didn’t you see him earlier? It was him and a couple of guards. The uniform checks out, does it not?” Alex looked down at the guy’s trench coat, which had a badge with a large, ominous silver eye over the middle. There was a noticeable hole in his neck. Two other lower ranking guards were piled next to him, on top of MC.  _Four… Four dead bodies in a single truck…_ Alex gulped and looked up at Monika, whose gaze was burning holes through him.

Monika started to unroll the sleeves of her uniform, unbuttoning them. She took the old, rusty straitjacket off and slipped the dead cult officer’s black trench coat on herself. She stretched her arms in it and sighed.  _”Much better…”_  She flicked off some of the remaining fresh blood off the sleeves of the coat and slipped the knife she used to kill the man into one of the pockets. She took the guy’s black dress pants off and put them on herself. She grabbed the Glock from her old uniform pocket and stuffed it into her new one.

Monika grabbed a roll of black duct tape off one of the crates and stuck it over the badge, making an X over the eye. Alex watched in stunned silence as Monika took some gauze and packed it into her empty eye socket, then grabbed some bandages off the floor and started to wrap them around the gauze. She undid the bow in her hair and set it on the ground, stomping on it a few times for good measure. She tied her hair up into a messy ponytail. When she was finished… Monika looked like a complete murderer. Someone you  _wouldn’t_  want to mess with. Her lips curved into a devilish smile. Her eye, cold and unforgiving.

Alex just nodded and looked out to the other girls, who were waiting patiently at the front of the market. There wasn’t a single car in sight, besides one other abandoned one and the car the guards came in.

“G-Girls!” Alex called out to them. “It’s okay to come in now, you’re good.” They rushed inside, eager to try on what they got.

Sayori pouted as the jacket and shirt were far too small for her, only managing to go over her chest. Natsuki chuckled. Alex got into the front seat of the car, and they got going.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Alex could hear the back start to open. He turned around in a panic, but calmed when he saw it was just Monika, looking outside. She sat on the edge, watching the road go by underneath her. Alex decided against starting a conversation with her. She seemed like she needed time to herself. Monika sighed in discontent.

 _”Hello again, my sheep.”_  Monika almost jumped.

“L-L! Don’t do that…” Monika whispered, looking back at Alex. “What do you want?” L giggled.

_”You know, these people… You shouldn’t trust them… They’re just as cold and unforgiving as those cultists were.”_

“What are you playing at, L?”

 _”What? You don’t trust me?”_  Monika nodded.

“W-Well, I do…”

_**”Then listen to me.”** _

Monika listened to every word L said to her, taking every single detail into account like her life depended on it.

_L… L is right. He’s always right. They’re just in the way…”_

The truck passed by a man walking on the side of the road, rifle slung under his shoulder, shaking his head in disappointment.

And then the truck passed him, and he was gone.

* * *

Mr Harriet pounded his fist on the table.

“What do you MEAN DR. SKYES IS DEAD?” The officer flinched, but nodded.

“Y-Yes sir. Reported dead by a carrier. C-C-Carrier 105..” Mr. Harriet grumbled.

“Goddamnit. I can’t afford to get a new doctor responsible for returning these carriers, let alone the REPAIRS thanks to Doctor  **fucking**  Connors…” The officer smiled.

“Harriet, sir, Dr. Connors was reported shot in the head during their escape.” Mr. Harriet chuckled.

“Finally… And… And 126? Where is she?”

“I… I don’t know yet, sir. We’ll find out.” Mr. Harriet grumbled.

“Great, that puts us with unbalanced staff between camps… Dr. L… He’s going to have to focus... “ Mr. Harriet’s eyes lit up. He smiled devilishly.

“Captain Barrett, bring Doctor Renier to the line. Doctors at camp B are in good enough condition to help me… Even  _if_  it goes against standard laws…”

Within a few minutes, Dr. Renier was on the line.

“GET MOVING, YOU WORTHLESS SACKS OF SHIT! Hello, Mr. Harriet. Long time no see, eh?” Mr. Harriet groaned.

“Shut it, Renier. I need your help. Dr. Skyes has been killed by carrier 105. This… This goes against our rules, but I make them. Dr. Renier, I need you. Let Dr. Felix take over in operations with manual labor, and get here immediately.”

“...I get it, sir. What will you need me to do? Perform torture practices? Ceremonies?”

“No.”

“Wh-Wha-”

“You are to be sent on the front lines with Captain Barrett and Captain Kosciuszko, to finish what Dr. Skyes started. Retrieve the carriers. Bring them back. End this charade once and for all.”

_Silence…_

“Yes sir. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

“Good.” Mr. Harriet ended the call and looked to Captain Barrett, who saluted clumsily.

“You are to follow Dr. Renier’s orders. Whatever she says, goes. Understand?” Captain Barrett nodded.

“Yes sir!” He ran out of the room.

“Go and tell Captain Kosciuszko this as well!” He called out to the captain. Mr. Harriet turned to his paperwork.

“Now, onto more pressing matters…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark has his funeral.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy!
> 
> So... I plan on posting more and more chapters to get y'all caught up with Reddit.

Everyone grabbed the dead bodies from the truck and brought them into Alex’s backyard. Alex grabbed MC’s body while Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki grabbed the two guards and Monika grabbed the captain’s body. Alex lay MC’s body right by the hole and sprinted upstairs. He grabbed one of his photos he took with his best friend while they were in college. He grabbed a piece of paper and a sharpie, then started writing.

_You never died in vain._

_I’ll keep them safe for you._

_-Alex_

He taped the note to the back of the frame and ran back downstairs, where Natsuki was already lowering MC’s body into the hole. They’d zip-tied his wrists to his belt loops and his ankles together to make him easier to carry, so he just sort of dropped in, no sprawling. Alex set the frame next to his friend, said a few prayers, and backed away.

Sayori walked up to Mark’s body in the ditch and sniffled.

“M-Mark… I miss you… We’ll all miss you.” She grabbed the lamb that Monika got her from a trip to the store, and set it in his arms. “Thank you. I love you.” She backed away from the grave, and Natsuki stepped forward.

“H-Hey, Connors. I… I know that death isn’t a thing to be dwelled on… But… For now, we’re all taking our time to remember you. You were the one to free me.  _You_  were the one to avenge Chiru, for me. I honor you for that, Connors. You saved me. So…” She took out a baggie full of old shell casings and tossed them in the grave. “The first time you taught me how to shoot, ha. Without that… I don’t know where I’d be. Probably dead. See you on the other side, Connors. May the stars guide you.” Yuri came close.

“I… I never thought you’d go this early, Mark. You really helped us… You really helped all of us. I probably would’ve killed myself by now. You… You showed me that I mattered. That I’m not a monster. I know that now.” She tossed in a page of her journal, titled “MC”.

“I made a whole page dedicated to you once I first left the cult. I-I was so scared. You showed me how to cope with emotions, without cutting. Without harming myself. I’ll miss you, Mark… But I’ll learn to get over it, like you’d want… You’d want us to stay strong.”

Everyone turned to Monika.

She stayed distant, looking out into the sky.

“M-Monnie? Don’t you want to… Say goodbye…?”

_Don’t listen to him, Monnie. He’s lying to you. I-It’s just a memory! He’s not here!_

_”Monika, you know what to do. Stay strong.”_

_HE’S LYING._

Monika shook her head. She hastily grabbed a shovel and started to bury MC. Alex grabbed her wrist.

“Monika, don’t you want to-”

 **”Leave it be.”**  She growled. Alex let go of Monika’s arm and backed away.

She buried Mark’s body, without even saying goodbye.

Late that night, though, she got up and walked outside, trying to remember where she’d buried him. She found the spot and knelt down, then looked around.

The man from before, the one they’d passed on the side of the road was there. Not in the backyard, but in the trees, watching. He looked familiar. He still had his rifle, and Monika could see he was wearing some kind of armor and helmet. “Hey!” Monika shouted. “Who are you?!” She heard someone moving inside the house, and her head turned to look. She didn’t see anything. Monika turned back to look at the mystery man, but he was gone. Like he was never there.

Alex ran out, gun in hand. “Monika!” he said. “Who is it?” Monika shook her head.

_I’m seeing things._

_He’s not real._

“Thought I saw someone,” she said.

“Cyka blyat, it’s late. Come inside, you need to sleep.” She nodded and walked in, glancing over her shoulder into the treeline as she did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayori and Yuri go out together. Monika goes out on a little hunt.

Dr. Renier parked the car and all the officers got out with her. Captains Barrett and Kosciuszko stayed in tow, right behind her. She looked up at the building and smiled.

“I remember the first time I came here,” She remarked. “Up until the day it became abandoned. Barrett, are they ready?” Captain Barrett nodded.

“Yes, Doctor.” He gestured for the two men holding the chains and hooks to come forward. “We’re ready for the assault. They won’t stand a chance against it.” Dr. Renier smiled.

“Good. Come along now. Careful, the beast is strong.”

Yuri sat on the floor of the living room. The candles she lit up illuminated the room. It was pitch black. She sat on a pillow in the middle of the candles, cross-legged, and closed her eyes. The diffuser she put in the room gave off the light scent of lavender, making her mind more at ease.

_Breathe in,_

_And breathe out._

_Let all of your fears, all of your hatred… Let it wash away._

_Listen to the sounds of the rain outside… Forget everything that has happened… Focus on what makes you happy._

_A nice, long novel. Your friends. Walks in the forests. Taking this time to relax… Being one with tranquility. Focus your mind… And let the hatred wash out. Now, let’s see if this works…_

She opened her eyes, and the room immediately became brighter. Her senses were lifted, and she felt as if she was floating. The scent of lavender enhanced. The candles turned from a bright orange to a dull white. She looked around, then stood upwards. The sound of her breathing echoed in her ears, above any other noise. She could hear every footstep she took. There wasn’t a single voice in her head.

Sayori walked into the room and squeaked.

“N-No-” She paused.

“...”

“Oh. Hi again, 501! It’s good to see you!” 501 smiled back.

“You too, Sayori. I’m just here for… For a little while. You can still call me Yuri, considering I am still her. I am merely an extent to Yuri’s abilities.” Sayori nodded.

“B-But it’s fun to call you that! It’s the opposite of 105! The nice version! Personally, I like 501 better.” 501 chuckled.

“Whatever you say, Sayori. I just wanted to go and take a stroll outside.” Sayori looked outside. The pitter-patter of the rain splashed onto the window. Sayori’s eyes lit up.

“W-Wait right here!” She darted into the closet. Things flung out from inside, hitting the floor right in front of 501. Sayori came out wearing a raincoat and carrying two umbrellas. She handed one to 501. “I’m coming with you!” She beamed, taking 501’s hand and leading her outside. “C’mon c’mon, let’s go!” As soon as they both walking onto the front porch, they unrolled their umbrellas and started down the dirt road.

“Sayori, you can go back inside… I’ll be okay.” Sayori shook her head.

“Of course not, silly! I’m going with you because I want to hang out with you!” 501 frowned.

“Are you… Are you only talking to me because of 501?” Sayori disagreed once more.

“Are you serious? I’m going because you’re my friend, 501 or not! Now come on, I wanna show you something I saw when I walked around here once!” She took 501 off the trail and onto the grassy fields, further away from the road. They went for about a mile before stopping near a small creek.

“I used to come here all the time, before we got Monnie out. It’s really nice to just sit next to the water and relax for a few minutes. I saw you with all the candles and such, and I thought bringing you here would help you out a bit with all this…” She gestured up and down 501’s body. “All this one with yourself stuff.” Sayori walked down to the creekside and sat down on a rock. She patted the rock beside her, gesturing for 501 to sit next to her. They obliged, sitting under one umbrella.

“It’s always nice to just take a walk outside for a bit, you know? You can find really cool stuff. Going up this creek, it continues into the nearby forest. There’s a really pretty lake with a waterfall there. I go there whenever I want to talk to Mama, since Monika won’t let me.” 501 listened into Sayori ramble on and on about the waterfall. She glanced upwards, towards the grey skies. She held out a palm and drops of water splashed onto their hand.

They sat there for a while, relishing in the feeling of calm in the middle of a storm.

Alex cracked open the door to Natsuki and Sayori’s room and peeked inside. Natsuki was sitting on the bed, a comic book on her head. She groaned.

“What is it, Minoyan?”

“I-I um… Have you seen Monika anywhere?” Natsuki took the book off her face and looked back up at Alex. She shook her head.

“I dunno, I don’t keep track of her.” Alex sighed and shut the door. He went downstairs and towards the front door. He could see that Yuri was gone, considering her candles were still lit in the front room. He peeked out the window.

His truck was gone.

“G-GODDAMNIT, CYKA!” He roared. Monika must’ve taken his car and stormed off. He grabbed his phone and pulled up Monika’s contact.

Alex:  _where in the hell did you go_

Monnie:  _Places. I’ll be back later._

Alex:  _get back quick, okay?_

Monnie:  _I’ll get back when I want to get back, Minoyan._

Alex sighed and shut off his phone.

“Just… Just don’t die, Monika.” He whispered to himself.

Meanwhile, Monika sped over to a specific area she had heard about from the doctors and guards. A training camp for the youth, just down the road. She parked the truck on the side of the road and grabbed all the supplies she brought. There were some CAR-15s, an MP5, and a couple of Glocks.

Monika stuffed the Glock into a holster and jammed a few spare magazines into her pockets, then slung the MP5 across her chest. She hooked the safety spoon of a grenade into a loop on the suspenders holding her spare magazines up, and slipped a swiss army knife into her breast pocket and shut the door. She started forward towards the camp.

It was a short walk, not taking long to get to the front. There were two guards at the front gate, both carrying MP5s just like hers. She started to line up the sights on the guard’s chest, then mentally kicked herself.  _Not suppressed. They’ll hear it._  She picked up a rock and tossed it into the brush, maybe twenty yards from the gate. It hit the ground with a loud clattering noise, and the two guards started to move into the woods, away from the gate.

Monika took off, running fast, sliding under the gate. She smiled.  _I’m inside now. Let’s get Alex a good meal, yeah? Hefty guy like him, he’ll need the food._  She started moving along the wall. There were two kids, maybe twelve, chattering excitedly about something. They had uniforms a little too big for them and submachine guns, just like the guards outside.  _Kids…_

 _”Do not stop, my sheep.”_  Monika hastily nodded and kept walking. A kid walked by, humming to himself, looking proud in his navy blue uniform and hat, gun in a holster on his hip. Monika shot out, her arm wrapping around his neck, pinching off the blood to his brain. He went unconscious quickly.

Monika lowered him to the ground, jammed a knee in his back, and yanked his head towards her knee, feeling his neck snap.

_”MORE.”_

She got up and kept moving. More kids passed by, occasionally with an adult. Most of the kids had rank patches, simple chevrons, but some didn’t.  _Cadets? Who gives a shit, they’ll die too._  Monika kept moving, eventually finding the kitchen. She slipped inside. There was a single chef, a woman, happily singing [a song to herself.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XHISAYqObo) “Summertime…” she sang, under her breath. *And the livin’ is easy…”

Monika saw red.  _Why does she get to be happy?! Why does she get to be happy and I don’t?! Why do I have to deal with all this?!_

 _”That’s why you’ll kill her,”_  L crooned.  _”Do it, quickly!”_  Monika snarled and grabbed a knife off a rack. The cook stopped singing abruptly and started to scream. She didn’t get the chance. Monika closed the distance quickly and punched her in the throat with her left hand, holding the knife in her right. The cook gasped, and Monika tackled her to the ground.

The cook got a hand up, grabbing Monika’s wrist, but Monika hit her again, and her grip slipped. She tried to put a hand out to stop the knife, but Monika stabbed through it, making the cook gasp in pain. She mouthed breathless words. It looked like scared, please-don’t-kill-me stuff. Like  _please_  and  _no_  and  _stop_. Monika didn’t care. The cook was still pushing up against the knife with her stabbed-through hand. She was still fighting.

Monika smacked the hilt of the knife with her other hand, and the blade bit through skin and bone. The cook tried to scream again–evidently she’d gotten her voice back–but Monika smashed the hilt again, and the knife shot through, leaving a bigger, deeper wound and collapsing a lung. She hit the knife again. It sank in and stayed there. Again, and the wound grew deeper. Again, and the cook’s heart tried to beat around stainless steel. Again, and the cook’s eyes went dull. Again, and more blood poured out. Again and again and again and again. And again.

Finally, Monika stood up and turned to the pantry. She grabbed out cans of food, beans, chili, sauces, soups, whatever was packaged and would last.  _”Food isn’t guaranteed,”_  Mark had told her.  _”So when you find it, take it. You don’t know when you might get more._ ” She swept them all into the backpack, then had an idea.

She turned on the gas valves to the stoves, the explosive mixture hissing out, starting to fill the room. Then, she took out a fork and stuck it in the microwave, covered by water and ice, and started a timer. Eventually, the whole kitchen would explode once the water evaporated, and all those kids… she smirked.  _Fuck ‘em. Hope they burn._  She swiftly exited the room. Monika was fine with kids dying, but didn’t intend to die to her own stupidity. She swiftly exited the camp, finding a back door and a decent hill to watch from. It didn’t take long for her to leave, and barely longer for the place to explode.

She heard the screams, the sound almost lyrical to her ears, a cacophony of destruction. She turned around to admire her work, and saw the man again, standing just ahead of the top of the hill not ten feet away, watching. He was wearing an olive drab uniform and black body armor, the kind the group had worn when they came to get her. He had his helmet off and clipped to something, exposing his longish hair. He had his rifle in his hand. She could see him lit up by the flames, a silhouette against the light. He was in plain sight of the guards, but none of them seemed to be doing anything about him, and he wasn’t doing anything but watching either.

“Hey!” Monika shouted. “Who the hell are you?” The mystery man didn’t turn, didn’t say anything. Just quietly stood there, shaking his head sadly. “I asked you a question!” she yelled again. She heard a noise from the trail behind and snapped around, weapon raised. Just a bird. She turned back, and he was gone again. Like he’d never been there. He hadn’t even flattened down the grass under his feet where he’d stood.

_Jesus christ, I’m really going insane._

_”Good work, my sheep,”_  L said. Monika smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOWEE SURE BEEN A WHILE HASN'T IT? WOOT
> 
> anyways the entire work is almost done! I've finished DM and moved onto DU! I'll be posting two chapters a day, I hope!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Renier catches up with her target.

Dr. Renier groaned as the screaming in the back of the truck got louder.

“Sweet fuck, go shut her up, will you?” Renier told Barrett. He nodded, walked to the back and fired off a few rounds. A couple of screams later, and the beast grew quiet. Dr. Renier smiled.

“Good work, Captain. You said there was commotion in a nearby training camp?” The captain nodded.

“Yes ma’am. We suspect it was 126. Around 20 people dead.” Dr. Renier sighed.

“We can’t just… We can’t just keep going like this. Seriously, soon enough we’re gonna run out of people to send to die.”

“Well, it’s good we’re going to put a stop to this, eh?” Captain Kosciuszko boomed. All the guards smiled and cheered. Dr. Renier rolled her eyes.

“Right.”

* * *

“Y-YOU… I SWEAR…” Alex growled. Monika rolled her eyes.

“What? I got us supplies, you can’t blame me.” Alex looked like he wanted to strangle Monika right there. Natsuki came downstairs and sighed.

“Hey look, the killer is back.”

“Yeah, I’m back. Thanks.”

“I-I was kiddi-”

“Anywho, where’s Sayori and Yuri? I thought they’d be back by now…” Alex shook his head.

“No, they aren’t back yet. I’m guessing 501’s with her though.” He gestured to the candles, which were still flickering a dull white glow.

“Great, more demons I have to deal with. Tell her to get back here now.”

“W-Well-” Monika glowered in his direction. Alex didn’t feel like dying.

“I’ll radio Sayori.”

* * *

Sayori and 501 sat by the creek, chatting up a storm. They talked about small things, like clothes and games. The rain pattered off Sayori’s umbrella.

“Y-Yuri… What’s gonna happen without MC? What are we gonna do?” She asked, plaintively. “I-I don’t know what we’re gonna do…” 501 gave her a hug.

“It’ll be okay. Just take the time to relax. Breathe. It’s going to be okay.” Sayori smelled lavender off of 501. Her mind felt more at ease at 501’s every word.

“O-Okay…” She whispered. “I trust you.”

On the side of the road, several trucks passed by, going back to Alex’s house. Sayori and 501 both looked at each other with worry.

“Sayori… We need to go, now.” 501 grabbed Sayori’s hand and started to move forward. Sayori agreed silently and ran.

While Sayori sprinted at full speed, 501 was at a slow jog and they were  _still_  faster than Sayori. 501 looked back at her and frowned.

“Sayori, hurry.”

“I-I’m trying! How are you running so quickly?” 501 paused for a moment. A light went on in their head and they grabbed Sayori, putting her on their back.

“Alright, let’s go.”

501 went at a full sprint on the road. Sayori felt as if she were flying. She watched the creek next to them as the rainclouds faded away. She watched the clear water sparkle in the sunlight. Her eyes lit up with childhood wonder.

501 stayed focused on the road ahead and getting right back to Alex’s home. Suddenly, the radio on Sayori’s belt crackled with static.

“Are you guys coming back yet? Over.” 501 skidded to a halt and looked at Sayori with worry.

“Alex, get out of there, there’s a truck coming your way! Over.”

The radio went silent for a few seconds.

“I-I’m getting them out now. When are you getting back? Over.” Sayori and Yuri still had almost two miles to go.

“I-In a bit, just get out of there. Over.”

Sayori heard an explosion rock the room on the other side of the radio. She gulped.

“Y-Yuri, go.” She ordered 501. They obliged and started back up in their sprint towards the house.

* * *

Dr. Renier walked into the room, trailed with about five guards equipped with submachine guns and body armor.

“Hey! We know you’re here. Come on out and we won’t cause any damage.” Natsuki rolled her eyes.

_Yeah right…_

She stayed silent in her hiding spot and eyed the door, which was blown wide open. She started crawling towards it.

Alex was outside in his backyard, hiding under plain sight from the windows. He moved to the front gate and towards their truck.

Monika was upstairs in hers and Yuri’s room. She had the door locked, but she knew it wouldn’t last for long. She took a step back and assessed her situation.

_Every room has some form of weaponry in it, be it traps or just a simple club._

She eyed the bear trap and baseball bat in the corner of the room by Yuri’s bed. She smiled.

_”Haha, good find. You know what to do.”_

She nodded whilst dragging the bear trap to the door. She set it up so as soon as someone walked in, it’d go off and keep them immobile. She heard the footsteps of a guard coming up the stairs.  _Good…_  She snatched up the baseball bat.

Soon enough, there was pounding on the door.

“Open up, Carrier! We know you’re in there!” Monika opened the window out to the front of the house.

The pounding turned to kicking. The wood cracked. Monika then unlocked the door.

A young guard cracked it open, a smug smile plastered across his face.

“Thank you! Now, let’s get going.” He took a step forward.

_SNAP-!_

The trap went off with a bang, closing around the guard’s leg. He howled in pain and tried to move, but to no avail.

“Good job, sir. Really smart of you.” said Monika, as she closed the door and locked it once again. The guard looked at her in fear.

She wound the bat backwards.

_CRACK!_

The bat made a pleasant crunching noise against the guy’s head as he fell to the floor. Blood started to leak from his head. He passed out cold on the floor. Monika heard more people rushing up the stairs.

She jumped out the window and landed on the ground, tucking her head into a forward roll. She got to the ground and eyed her surroundings.  _Two guards, just sitting there._  They jumped as they noticed her there all of a sudden. They reached for their guns, but Monika was faster.

She lunged forward, knife in hand, and stabbed one of the guys in the throat, bringing him down. She kicked the body to the floor and went after the other guy, who was still fumbling with his gun. Monika had enough time to grab the bat and smash it against the guy’s head a few times, knocking him to the floor next to the other guy.

 _”Yes, yes… Excellent…”_  Monika giggled.

“No problem, L.” She then turned to their truck, hopped inside and into the driver’s seat. Alex came in, panting and groaning. He put the keys in and waited for Natsuki.

Monika started to drive.

Alex grabbed the steering wheel. “Blyat, you idiot! You don’t leave her behind!” Monika growled.

“She can fend for herself, damnit! Let go!” Just then, Natsuki sprinted in, followed by angry yelling and loud gunshots.

“Gogogogogogo-” She yelled, shutting the back door to the truck and grabbing  _The Nemesis._

Monika stepped on it.

The other two trucks followed not so long afterwards. The entire truck shook at all the gunshots being fired.

Natsuki’s eyes widened.

“WH-WHAT ABOUT YURI AND SAYORI?” She screamed. Monika sighed.

“Whatever! We need to go!”

Sayori and 501 saw three trucks barrelling down the road, with one very ticked off Monika driving the one in front. They waved their arms to get the attention of the truck.

It passed them by quickly.

Sayori faltered. “H-HEY, WAIT! YOU FORGOT US!” 501 looked back at the other two trucks filled with guards. They set Sayori down and walked to the middle of the road, calmly.

“Y-Yuri, what are you doing?” She screamed. 501 ignored her and put a simple hand out to the truck.

Closer and closer it came.

501 stayed motionless and ignorant to Sayori’s pleas.

_300 feet._

“Yuri, please! Y-You’re gonna kill yourself!”

_200._

“C’mon, buddy, PLEASE!”

_100._

Sayori shut her eyes and braced for impact.

What she heard was the sounds of tires skidding to a halt and the groaning of the truck overturning. She cracked one eye open to see sparks flying, and the truck sliding across the road on its side. The other truck behind them braked.

501 was still in that same position.

Sayori’s eyes widened.

“Y-Yuri, how did you-”

“Forced the driver to stop.” They smiled. “I have that effect on people.” They winked and Sayori giggled. 501 ran off the road and put Sayori on their back again.

“Now come on. The effect won’t last for long in that truck.”

They sprinted away, off the road and into the forest.

Renier’s jaw dropped.

“Fucking shit… I knew carriers were deadly, but I didn’t know they could control people like that…” Captain Kosciuszko gulped.

“They can’t…”

Dr. Renier looked at the captain in disbelief. Then she looked back at the road and smiled.

“Perfect. Get those guards aboard our truck and continue to go after the other truck. Captain Kosciuszko, you and a few guards go after those two.

“B-But doctor… You saw how they were…”

“I know. You’ll be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright alright alright
> 
> agh, i love this series. I've posted the entire thing on reddit! I have a huge following with it too!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayori and 501 go to the salt and pepper diner.

**Sayori’s POV**

501 led me through the woods. We jumped over trees, went over small streams and past the thousands of birch trees. I clung to her back like my life depended on it, because she was going  _fast._  Was I flying? I felt like it.

Wait! There it is! The lake!

“501! 501, stop! We can take a break!” I shouted in her ear. She skidded to a halt. It felt as if the universe stopped with her. She set me down, and looked at me.

 _”Lead the way then.”_  I heard her voice in my head. I nodded, grabbed her hand, and sprinted towards the area.

“You’ll love it! It’s got a waterfall, and it’s a really good place to relax, and-”

 _”Haha, Sayori. Calm down. We’ll be there within a minute.”_  She whispered to me. Okay, fine. Where was I…?

Oh! Here I am! I guess I was just too distracted…

501 looked around the area in wonder. It was a small, clear blue lake. Birch trees surrounded the area. The sun shone through, making the water sparkle. Up above, there was a water stream pouring down onto the lake. It glistened like a paradise only available in dreams. There was a few deer drinking from the lake next to me. They looked up at me, and came closer. 501 tensed up.

“Nono, it’s okay.” I whispered to her. Luckily, I remembered to grab my pack this time. Not much to help defend ourselves, maybe a small pocket knife. But I had a bag of trail mix. I set the bag down and grabbed the trail mix, holding it out to the deer. “You just need to be quiet.” The deer came closer and nibbled on the trail mix in my hand. I stayed completely motionless. The deer ate all the mix, and I patted him softly on his head. 501 tried moving towards it, but the deer scampered away.

“You have to be silent.” I told them. “Don’t be forceful. Just be peaceful. I guess in a way… You have to be one with the forest. You can do that, right?” 501 nodded. I smiled. “Great. What can you feel?” 501 paused. They closed their eyes.

“I can… I can feel the water splashing. I can hear the deer, drinking the water. I can hear a bird perching on a tree right over there.” They pointed towards a tree to my left. Sure enough, there was a small bird sitting on a tree, happily chirping. I nodded.

“Wow 501, you’ve really improved! Good work.” I knew I couldn’t do much to help Yuri out with her problems with 105. I couldn’t save her from hatred, but I could try to help her with shutting it out. I could help her to control it. The deer came closer again. 501 turned towards it, opened their eyes and smiled. They leaned down and the deer came even closer. 501 reached their hand out and petted the deer. I crouched down beside them.

“I’m… I’m doing it.” I smiled.

“Good job, buddy.”

But that soon ended. The deer flinched and ran away. I stood up confused. “Wait!” I called out to the deer. “Where are you going?” 501 stood up and grunted.

“They’re coming,” they said, frantically. “I can feel it. Shouting. Running. About… about twenty of them. All armed.” Oh no. I widened my eyes, then grabbed her wrist.

“C’mon Yuri, we need to go.” 501 nodded, but stayed still. They shut their eyes yet again. What is she waiting for? After a few seconds, they opened their eyes and smirked.

“I stopped them… For a limited time.” They rushed forward, yanking me with them. “We still need to hurry.” I jumped on 501’s back.

“Let’s go then.”

We left the creek behind us. Yet again, we were on the run, with 501 practically flying through the air. The forest seemed thick, with no end in sight. I started to lose hope. Where are we?

But then I could see a clearing. Pavement. A road, and a building. It looked like a restaurant.

The sign read,  _The Salt and Pepper Diner._

Yuri and I looked at each other.

“Go.” I whispered. She took off, across the street. We burst through the door and about twenty people stared at us, confused. I smiled sheepishly. I looked at 501.

 _”Hey, don’t worry. Fun little thing about me, I can look normal very easily.”_  Apparently, she had taken a pair of sunglasses out of my bag somehow and was now wearing them. I rolled my eyes and got off them.

“Yeah, great disguise.” My voice singed with sarcasm. 501 scoffed.

 _”Shush.”_  She told me in my head. I giggled and sat down at a booth.. I grabbed my pack and pulled out a fifty Alex had gave me.

“I’ll pay for lunch. Do… Do you eat?” 501 nodded.

“I’m not a demon, Sayori. I’m still Yuri regardless.” Right. I laughed sheepishly.

“Eheheh, right…”

A waiter came up to us and handed us menus. It seemed like a family diner, meaning the prices weren’t too high and they weren’t too low. I ended up ordering a burger with fries, and 501 ordered a salad with some soup. We just chatted about normal stuff, and prayed to god that those guards didn’t come in. I listened to the music being played on the jukebox. The song restarted again, and a man in the corner of the room groaned and slammed the table. Two kids sitting across from him giggled. The song was  _loud_  and obnoxious. We laughed alongside the kids.

I faltered as soon as a guy put his hands on our shoulders. I expected the doctor to be there.

What I saw was a random guy, one I hadn’t met before.

501 gasped and almost fell over. They sat upwards again, but the glasses were off.

It was Yuri.

She adjusted her glasses and looked up at the man, terrified. He grabbed her shoulder and dragged her out the door. Yuri let him.

I sat in stunned silence for a few seconds. Then I snapped back out, and ran outside. Yuri and the guy were alone beside the building. He had his hand raised, ready to strike. Yuri held her hands up. No!

I jumped between the two.

“H-Hey! Break it up!” I tried yanking the two apart. Yuri jumped back. The two were panting. I held my hands up. “Okay, what the heck is going on right now?” The man glowered at me.

“She was the one who killed the only thing… The only thing I worked towards.”

“She killed my family.”

I held my breath. I looked at the two stunned.

Um… What would  _you_  do in this situation?

“U-Uh…”

Suddenly, a man turned around the corner. He wore the same coat as… Monnie.

“Hello again, 110.”

The captain had found us.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Alex and Monika argue, Natsuki pulls a risky move.

Monika booked it down the road. She growled in impatience.

“Sweet fuck, lose the deadweight! Natsuki, shoot ‘em down!” Monika tossed her back a handgun.

“Well, how am I supposed to deal with it?” Natsuki shouted. Monika groaned.

“Goddamnit 106, I don’t have time for this! Just poke your head out the window and shoot!” Natsuki paused.

“Monnie, you strictly told us not to-”

“DOES IT LOOK LIKE I GIVE A SHIT? NO! SO GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND KILL THOSE SONS OF BITCHES, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Monika screamed with rage. She turned and glared at Natsuki. Natsuki yelped. Her eyes were literally  _glowing_  with hate. Anger seemed to radiate her. Natsuki gulped, nodded and poked her head out the window, pointing the gun at the truck trailing them around 400 feet away.. Alex was bracing himself in the back, but once he heard the conversation Monika and Natsuki had, he jumped up. Natsuki yelped as bullets whizzed past her head.

“YOU… YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” Alex screamed at Monika. “DO YOU  _WANT_  US TO DIE?”

“Right now? YES.” Monika growled. Alex was about to explode. Natsuki looked back at the two. Alex and Monika were trying to yell over each other. Her ears rung. She growled. Alex gasped.

“W-Wait, where’s Charlie?”

Natsuki grabbed a knife off the floor. She rolled the window all the way down.

“Who cares? It’s a dog!” Alex clenched his fist.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN,  _JUST A DOG?_  HE’S MY BEST FRIE-”

He and Monika were cut off by Natsuki jumping out the window. It was silent for a count of five, before Alex sprinted forward and looked out the window.

Natsuki was recovering from her jump. She snuck over to the truck and shot out one of the windows. The truck swerved and Natsuki took that time to climb on and get inside. She counted maybe around guards just there, along with a snarling monster shaking the entire truck in the back along with a captain and Dr. Renier. She caught everyone off guard as soon as she grabbed the wheel and swerved the truck to the side.

“N-No, get out, you pest!” Dr. Renier screamed. Natsuki smirked. The truck creaked and trembled, and everyone else fell. Natsuki leapt off the driver’s seat and back out the way she came. On the way out, one of the guards shot, grazing her forehead. It stung like hell.

She tumbled onto the grass and watched as the truck came to a halt before it toppled over. Natsuki clutched her head in pain. There was blood  _everywhere._  She was dizzy. Everything was spinning, but she could hear the guards start to get out of their truck. She gasped and crawled out of sight.

“Did the twerp die?” one of the guards snarled.

“I don’t… Wait! Look here, blood! She’s definitely dead, ain’t she? Who shot her?” One of the guards raised his hand and everyone patted him on the back, congratulating him. Natsuki looked around for Monika or Alex.

The truck sped away in the distance.

Natsuki was alone.

She took a shaky breath in. Her head was pounding. She slipped in and out of consciousness, but she shook her head.

_C’mon ‘Suki. Now’s not the time._

She crawled away from them, towards a nearby creek. She got herself behind a rock before she passed out.

Monika and Alex sped away. Alex looked dumbfounded. He turned to Monika.

“You just… You just left her. She could be  _dead._ ”

“Okay.”

“...”

He spat on the floor in front of Monika, then turned to go sit on a supply crate.

“What human scum I have to deal with…”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Sayori have some problems to deal with.

**Yuri’s POV**

Sayori stumbled back once she saw the captain turn the corner. Great. It’s not like we’re already dealing with a problem here. In the moment of surprise, I used it to yank my hand free. The father growled and lunged back after me.

“H-Hey, I’m sorry….” Okay, I’m calling bullshit on myself. How the hell can you say  _”Hey, I’m sorry I accidentally let myself lose control of my body, and I’m super sorry I murdered your family. We cool now?”_  No. You can’t just do that. He punched me in the gut and I reeled back in reflex. I fell to the floor, and the guy stepped on my leg. Sayori fell beside me, and then looked to me in fear. Thousands of emotions moved throughout my head: Fear, remorse, nausea, and… and  _hate._

Wait, why? What did I do?

My vision blurred a bit. No! Not again! I-I was just turning a new leaf, I was just-

Sayori grabbed my hand and looked me dead in the eyes.

“Breathe.”

I took a deep breath in. The guy stomped on my leg again. I heard guns being drawn. Sayori kept her grip on my hand, and dragged me out of there. I heard men shouting behind us. I looked back at Sayori.

“S-Sayori, what are you-”

“No time! We have to go, now!” I looked back at the man whose family I killed.

 _”He deserved it. You did nothing wrong.”_  I… That  _is_  true…

_”Why should he be hurting you for something you didn’t do?”_

_”Fight back.”_

**_”Kill him.”_ **

I paused. Sayori tried pulling me, but it was like trying to move a brick wall.

“Y-Yuri? What are you doing? We have to go!”

_Hahaha…_

I clenched my fist, and I felt as if time stopped around me.

The guards stepped back in nervousness. The kept their guns raised. The man in front of me faltered.

“You…”

No.

WAIT, NO-

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%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$

$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%#%$$%#%$%

* _”It wasn’t my fault you were so ignorant…”_

The man took a hesitant step backwards.

_”It’s yours… All yours…”_

105 relished in the thought of the man’s guts being spilled against the floor, just as his wife’s. They smiled.

Sayori gasped, then moved back. 105 laughed. The man stayed petrified, out of fear. The guards turned over their heels and booked it. Captain Kosciuszko didn’t stop them.

105 pounced forward. The man was  _frozen._

He realized his error and ducked underneath 105 as they struck. 105 fell to the floor and the man grabbed their leg.

The guards, now reorganized, turned back around the corner. 105 was snarling and fighting to get their leg free while the man reached for a knife on the floor.

Sayori tensed up as she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder. She turned slowly.

The man was a police officer, his hair old and his skin wrinkled. He smiled down at her.

“Hello there. You need help?.”

Sayori looked up at the man, dumbfounded. She glanced to the side and saw a police squad car parked in the back of the restaurant.

“I-I… Um…” The officer looked at the scene and faltered.

“Cultist motherfuckers, coming in and messing with poor people…” He hissed, drawing his pistol out from his holster. “A-And… A…” He looked at 105.

“This is worse than I thought.”

He rushed forward. The guards were now grabbing 105, who twisted and tried to break free. The officer raised his gun and fired a warning shot at the ground below 105. Everyone except 105 jumped. They let go of 105 and it jumped upwards, grabbing the man’s arm.

“N-No!” He had the knife in his hand. The officer gasped and tried to interfere, but he was too far away.

Sayori, instead tackled 105 to the ground. Instead of fighting, she hugged 105.

“Yuri! Breathe, it’s me! I-It’s Sayori! C’mon buddy…. I’m sorry, it was just a reflex!”

105’s growling became softer. Their grip on Sayori loosened. The officer continued to scare the guards away, who became quite disorganized yet again.

“Get lost, you killers!” He snapped.

Yuri gasped, and looked around. Sayori wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged her yet again. She passed out yet again from exhaustion.

“Y-Yuri, you’re back… I’m sorry…” Yuri stayed silent. The officer looked back at them and glared.

“Get up! We don’t have time!” He grabbed Yuri’s arm and dragged her to the car. The officer grabbed her arms while Sayori stood and grabbed Yuri’s legs. They threw her in the back of the car, then Sayori got in the front seat and they drove off. Bullets flew by the car. The officer cursed as he got on the road.

“Grr… I thought I was done with this…” He whispered.

“Th-Thanks.” Sayori squeaked. The officer looked down at her in complete confusion.

“H-How did you get in trouble with them..? How did you snap her out…? Wait…” He looked her up and down.

“I remember pulling your friend over. You… You’re a carrier, aren’t you?” Sayori nodded.

“Yeah… Me and her. We were carriers.” He paused.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” A few seconds of silence passed.

“H-How… How did you know about it?” The officer paused.

“Well… Do you know of the resistance?” Sayori looked up at him.

“I… No. I thought it was just us…”

“Well… No. A very long time ago, there were people who fought against these cultists. They were against what they did to people like you. It was formed by a woman.... A woman who saw what had happened and took action. Many people followed. After she died, well… Not a lot of people had hope anymore. We’re scattered… I’ve lost hope.” Sayori paused.

“I… I see. I’m sorry…”

“And well, after my daughter… She died at the hands of those.... Those backstabbing little killers….” Sayori could feel the hurt in his words. “She was only three. Only three, and she died. So much to live for…”

“I know how it feels. My mama, she died too. She died protecting me. I miss her a lot.” The officer turned to look at her.

“Wait, how old… How old were you when you were taken?”

“W-Well… MC always told me it was when I was three-”

“Same hair, same eyes….” He whispered. “What was your mother’s name?”

“Rose. Rose Erhler.” The officer gasped.

“YOU’RE HERE!” He shouted. Sayori jumped.

“Wh-What do you mean? Of course I’m here!” He shook his head.

“I can’t believe it.”

“What are you saying?” He looked at her.

“Your mother was the leader of the rebellion. And I was her husband.” Sayori gasped.

“W-Wait… Greyson…?” He nodded.

“Greyson Erhler… It’s so good to see you again, Sayori. I missed you.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Monika find a new place to stay.

Alex glowered at Monika from the back. She continued driving.

“Hey, they on us anymore? Go check.” She ordered. Alex groaned and opened the back of the truck.

“We’re good.”

“Thank fuck. I’ll be going for a few more miles, then I’m stopping.” Alex looked at her in confusion.

“Where? There’s no motel here.” Monika smiled.

“I know.”

Within ten minutes, Monika pulled over near a home. Alex looked even more confused.

“Um… You do realize this isn’t a motel?” She nodded. “A-And… You’re okay with whoever’s in there?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Monika handed Alex a handgun and hopped out the truck with the same baseball bat. “Back me up if I need it.”

She snuck onto the front lawn and looked inside the front window.

“What do you see?” Alex whispered.

“One guy, unarmed.” She smirked. “Good find, eh?” Alex scowled at her. Monika chuckled and crawled forward. “Heh. Let’s move.” She stood up at the front door and brought her foot up. She kicked the door down and the guy inside practically fell out of his chair.

“W-W-W-Wait! Please!” He cried. Monika smiled and swung her bat at the guy’s head. He crumpled to the floor and Monika gestured for Alex to come closer.

“I’ll need help moving him.” She grabbed a leg and started pulling him to the basement door. Alex shook his head.

“Monika, you’re gonna get us killed at this rate…” He picked up the other leg and helped Monika drag the guy’s unconscious body down into the basement. They propped him up against a wall and Monika grabbed duct tape. She rolled it around his head once to make sure he wouldn’t be able to scream. She then carefully wrapped the man up in the duct tape, making sure he couldn’t move his arms or legs. Alex watched silently.

Once Monika was done, she stood up and walked upstairs. Alex followed soon after.

“I’m taking the master bedroom. You can sleep wherever you want.” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Yes ma’am, miss president.” He said sarcastically. Monika growled.

“You better watch your back, Minoyan.” Alex smirked.

“Or what? You’ll kill me?” He remarked back. Monika snarled and grabbed his arm, yanking him downwards.

“I don’t need you, Minoyan. You’re mostly in my way. If you were someone like Natsuki, you’d be in the pits of hell by now. Now  _get out of here._  She pushed him to the floor and walked upstairs. “Oh, and one more thing…” She tossed him her bat.

“Clean this off for me, will you? I don’t want it dirty.” She chuckled and walked away.

Luckily, she had a few spare weapons in her captain’s uniform. A small pocket knife, and a FN Five-Seven. She just needed Alex to be distracted.

 _”Alex doesn’t deserve to come with us, does he?”_  Monika shook her head.

“No. No he doesn’t.”

 _”Good. Now, let’s go deal with the scum, finish them off. How does that sound?”_  Monika smiled.

“Sounds great.”

_”Perfect.”_

She walked into the master bedroom, only to crack open the window and hop out. She climbed down safely, leaving Alex alone.  _”The motel is close. Only a few miles.”_  She started on a sprint towards the motel to see if they were there. She was sure they were.

Coming up to it, she could see the truck parked. It was shaking and she could hear noises coming from it. She gulped.

 _What are they planning…?_  She thought to herself. She saw someone walk out from inside the motel and she ducked into a nearby bush. They seemed to be grabbing supplies from the truck. The doctor walked out as well, followed by two guards and a terrified man being dragged towards their truck. He whimpered. The doctor sighed.

“Shut him up, will you?” The guard grabbed the guy’s throat and he became silent. “Good. Now…” She turned to the man. “We’ll be heading off to a seperate location far from here. Your family will be notified that you have died. Don’t worry, it’s fine.” The man shook his head. “Sir, you don’t have a choice. We’re low on staff right now.” The guards loaded him in a separate car and went back inside to grab another hostage. Monika scowled.

 _”Great, more trouble to deal with later…”_  She moved forward, behind the truck and out of view. The doctor seemed to turn and walk inside. Monika snuck to the back of the motel and crawled to an open window, where she listened into a conversation. She heard the doctor walk inside.

“Any intel on where 126 and that pesky doctor are?”

“No ma’am. Nothing so far. We’ve predicted they’d be staying somewhere nearby.”

“Interesting. We’ll leave in the morning. How about 106?”

“Dead. We found her body by the river. Looked like she would die any second.” The doctor chuckled.

“Very good. The eye will be pleased. Have you contacted Captain Kosciuszko yet?”

“He told us that police intervened the last time and he was forced to retreat.”

“Great. Now that the carriers are in police custody…” She paused to think. “Order Captain Kosciuszko back to the main hospital. I’ll be contacting Dr. L tonight.”

“Are you sure Mr. Harriet will be okay with this…?”

“Who’s in charge right now?”

“...You… You are, doctor.”

“Exactly. And if I need help, I’ll get help. Dr. L knows more about these infectious little experiments than I. He should be able to help us.”

“Yes… Yes ma’am.”

“Now, go patrol the area. Who knows where that 126 could be…” Monika chuckled silently. She heard the guard walk out of the room.  _Now’s my chance…_  She started to crawl into the room through the window. She flipped out the pocket knife out of her coat pocket and raised it above Dr. Renier, who was sitting on a computer, oblivious to her attacker.

_BANG!_

A bullet whirred past Monika’s head and hit the wall. She spun to meet her attacker.

“A-ALEX, I SWEAR TO GOD-”

“NOW ISN’T THE TIME YOU IDIOT! GET OUT OF THERE, NOW!” He screamed at Monika. The doctor grabbed Monika’s captain jacket.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The doctor said slyly. Monika promptly elbowed Dr. Renier in the head. She crumpled to the floor and Monika ran.

Just then, a guard tackled Alex to the ground outside. They wrestled for control over the gun. Monika jumped out of the window, cracking the guard in the head. He passed out cold. Monika slung the guy over her shoulder and started sprinting. Alex grabbed her jacket sleeve.

“Where are you going with him?” He shouted.

“Interrogation. We have to know the whereabouts of Captain Kosciuszko. He’ll be our little rat.” She winked. Alex sighed.

“Whatever. Just don’t get us killed with him.” They sprinted towards the road and back to the house.

“There they are!” shouted Captain Barrett. “You! Release it!” The guard looked very terrified.

“B-But sir, we don’t even know if it’s stable or not-”

“DO NOT DISREGARD MY ORDERS! 102 IS RESTRAINED, AND SO IS THE MONSTER. IT WILL BE FINE. NOW.” The guard gulped and slowly opened the back of the truck. Immediately, bunches of tendons and muscle ripped it open. Every guard in the motel parking lot duck as the green, rotted veins raced towards Monika and Alex.

They looked at each other, then ran. Monika growled in rage then threw the guard 10 feet in front of them. Her pace immediately quickened. She grabbed Alex and threw him beside the unconscious guard. Alex took one good look at Monika, then yelped in terror. He stood up and darted away. Monika looked behind her.

The amalgamation couldn’t reach any further. It screamed in outrage as Monika stood right in front of it’s tendril.

“Ahaha… Nice try.” She giggled. “See ya later, Captain!” Monika grabbed the guard and ran away. They were at least 200 feet away from the motel now, and Captain Barrett was nearly a speck. Monika smiled as he heard Dr. Renier’s outrage from the parking lot.

Back at the house, Monika finished duct-taping the guard to the chair. “Don’t worry,” she said. “My friend will be along soon…”

The door flew in, and the guard shook. Standing in front of him was a very big,  _very_  angry Russian, with…

A drill?

“YOU LITTLE BITCH!” he shouted. “YOU LIKE TO HURT LITTLE GIRLS, HUH? DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE DO TO PEOPLE LIKE THAT?!” The guard shrank back. “I’M GONNA KNEECAP YOU!” the Russian screamed. The guard yelped in fright. “I’LL DRILL A HOLE RIGHT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING FEET!”

“No, don’t! Jesus, no!”

“JESUS?! WHERE WAS HE WHEN YOU BEAT THOSE INNOCENT PEOPLE? WHERE WAS HE WHEN YOU MURDERED PARENTS? FRIENDS? SIBLINGS? LOVED ONES?”

“No, that’s not–I never–”

“MOTHERFUCKER, LET’S DO IT RIGHT NOW!” The drill spun up, whirring. The guard could see the bit spinning as the man moved it closer to his knee.

“WAIT! WAIT, GOD, NO! I’ll tell you everything, just STOP!” The man moved back.

“So talk,” he said.

The guard drew in a shaky breath. “D–Dr. Renier wants to put together a big group of guards,” he said. “Maybe fifty or sixty. She’s trying to get you all pinned down in one place so he can kill you.”

“Not. Enough.” The woman stalked closer, holding a knife. “Tell me more. Who is Dr. Renier?”

“I–I can’t tell you! They’ll kill me!”

The woman snarled. “ _I’ll_  kill you if you don’t talk!”

“I–I’m sorry!” the guard said. Monika tried to launch herself at him, but Alex caught her by the collar and flung her to the ground. The knife flew out of her hand, and Alex kicked it away.

“Don’t you  _dare._ ” Alex growled. He turned back to the guard, who was shaking. “But… She’s right. Who is Dr. Renier, and what does she want?” Monika tried standing, but Alex kept a foot on her back to keep her from doing so. He fired up the drill again and the man yelped.

“Sh-She’s a doctor! Just like Dr. L! Sh-She works at the other camp, for the workforce we use! She w-was ordered by Mr. Harriet to do it!” He tried scooting away from the spinning drill.

“Well… We’ll need more.” The guard looked up at Alex in terrified confusion. “And you’ll be our little rat. Understand?” The drill whirred to life and the young guard nodded.

“Y-YES! I UNDERSTAND, JUST GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!” Alex smirked and lifted the foot off Monika’s back. She stood, dusted off her pants, and walked away.

“Fine then… Have it your way, Minoyan…” She hissed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a reflection of a man, watching her. It shook its head.


	11. Journal Entries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri keeps a journal.

1/27/17

Mark gave this notebook to me to record down my experiences… is this how I do it?

I can’t believe how much I have missed since I was free.

Everything around me is bliss, and I savor every moment of it. The simple chirp of a bird, the croak of a frog as it jumps into a pond… It’s magnificent. A wondrous sight to see. I am still getting adjusted to the looser schedule and the new people, but I’m assured that it will all end up fine.

I still don’t know what I am going to say to Sayori, however.

She still refuses to acknowledge me, for that stupid stuffed animal… But I understand where she’s coming from. I was a heartless monster to her. That’s all I will ever be. I just wish I could rekindle our relationship.

But those guards are still after us. They continue on their assault against us, they attack us at every possible moment. Monika continues to tell me that everything is going to be fine, but I’m starting to have doubts in her. They’re getting closer.

But all I can do is hope, and pray.

Speaking of praying, Natsuki has sparked an interest in the stars for me. Millions upon millions, sparkling and shining, each one having its own call. It’s much better than that pesky eye, so for now, I’m going along with it.

For now, I’m getting a grip on things. Soon enough, I’ll be back to normal. It’s just a matter of time.

-Yuri Libitina

11/16/18

I already miss her. All of us do. Hope seems to be lost within our group. Even Sayori is silent. MC refuses to speak with me. I’ve had to take the initiative for the wellbeing of the entire group. Right now, we’re staying on the outskirts of the camp. I just feel as if something is off within this area…

I hear it

I’ll be back.

-Yuri Libitina

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

-XXXXXX

2/3/19

It has been a while with Officer Erhler. Sayori seems to be ecstatic about the whole situation. I can’t help but feel that single tinge of jealousy, however. My father did that only when I was young. How quaint. It’s pitiful, really. But I have to stay strong. I can’t let 105 slip yet again. Every time, I feel that darkness growing. I haven’t been able to access 501 for quite some time. I’m starting to become fearful of myself again, their voice has come back. Maybe I should do it. I still have that knife.

But I need to keep a steady state of mind. For Sayori. I can’t just leave them, even despite what they’re saying. I know their intentions now. It’s crystal clear.

Officer Ehrler is planning on heading inwards towards a small town in the nearby mountains. I’m not going to argue with him. I’ve been silent this entire trip, and I plan to keep it that way.

I’ll keep you updated.

-Yuri Libitina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully it makes more sense if I esplain it
> 
> The first entry is in AE.
> 
> The second is right after ID starts.
> 
> And the last one is current.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuki and Charlie head into town.

**Natsuki’s POV**

Alrighty, down the road I go…

It had been some hours since I left Alex’s. Charlie was content and snoring in the back. My head hurt like hell, and I was already hungry yet again.  _C’mon Suki, you survived on stale, moldy bread for fifteen years. You’ll be good._  Yeah.

“Alright, I’ll be… I’ll be getting somewhere close soon. I hope…” I grumbled to myself. I thought of Monika, who had probably decapitated someone by now. Alex was most likely terrified. Sayori and 501 left quite a while ago… I wonder how they’re doing… And then Dr. Renier… She probably thinks I’m dead or something.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

The highway was filled with people heading back from skiing trips. I was somewhat jealous. They’re going that way because of some fun ski trip. I was going that way because I was on the lookout for a psychopath and a Russian doctor.

Some crazy world we live in, eh?

But I needed to stop and get gas soon. I drove off the highway and parked the truck near the gas station. It was a beautiful lakeside view of the snow capped mountains. The lake sparkled, and the pine trees shook in the wind. The houses were nothing short of spectacular. I took a deep breath in.

“Why can’t I just live a peaceful life?”

It was a breathtaking sight, but I needed to stay on track. Monika and Alex could be in Denver by now. Charlie hopped out and walked around for a bit. I smiled, then looked towards the little tourist shop they had here.

_Wait._

Two guards, sitting and chatting. They were… Far from the camp…

I hid behind the truck, and peeked over to see them. I still… I still need to get supplies from there… Damnit.

I sprinted past the two and into the shop. People stared me down, but I could care less. I ran towards the clothing section.

I need something to hide in… I paused at a black scarf.

 _This’ll work._  I wrapped the cloak around my head until I could barely see. The two guards walked into the shop, glanced at me, then went about their day. I sighed.

_Too close, Nat._

Yeah, no kidding.

They simply grabbed some protein bars, paid and left. As soon as they left the room, I uncovered my head and went into the bathroom.

Yeah, I’m not showing that.

I walked out and looked at the scarf I still had on. It helped me hide… quite easily… Hm. I have money to spare. I bought the scarf, along with a few protein bars and a bottle of water. The cashier lady smiled down at me.

“Enjoying your stay here?” She asked me. She must’ve thought I was some sort of tourist.

“W-Well… Yeah. Yeah I am. Thanks.” I said half-heartedly.

“You know… You should totally check out the Evergreen area when you get the chance! It’s very pretty.”

“I’m actually heading there right now! Meeting up with… Some old friends.” The woman handed me my change and nodded.

“Well, have fun!” I smiled and waved goodbye to the cashier, slipped on my scarf, and walked back to the truck. Charlie was sitting and waiting for me there.

The two guards were arguing over each other.

“What do you mean  _you weren’t the one?_ ” One yelled.

“Why would I ever spray paint over it? I wouldn’t dare defy it.” The other yelled back. I rolled my eyes. Let me guess, someone spray painted their car while they were gone… Haha. Fun. But just then, two more guards came from around the corner with one guy struggling with his hands cuffed behind his back. His mouth was gagged. I sighed.

_I’m gonna have to help him, won’t I?_

I ran back to my truck and grabbed a pocket knife, along with some wire. I can’t make noise. Not in the middle of town. Stealth is gonna have to be on my side.

I walked slowly, up to the guards. Charlie followed close behind. They didn’t seem to notice me. Charlie then leapt and bit one of the guard’s legs, making him drop the guy in reflex. The guards threw him aside, then glared at me.

“Keep your dumb dog out of control, then scram, kid.” He growled. I chuckled.

“No. No, I’d rather not.” I said sarcastically.

“Brat…” He hissed, turning back to the guy. I used that few seconds to pounce on him, hook punching him to the face and knocking him down. Charlie bit his leg and dragged him away. The other guard raised his arm to swing. I ducked underneath his punch, then elbowed him in the solar plexus. He reeled back in reflex, and shoved him to the ground. Two more guards to go…

One of them had a knife. They swung at me, and I sidestepped out of the way. Charlie ran back and tackled him to the ground, ripping his face apart.

A guard jumped on me, and I had a hard time getting him off. He almost had me to the floor. No… Not now… c’mon… He overpowered me. I fell to the floor.

Charlie was still tearing up the man’s face.

Welp… I tried…

Wait, what about-

He grabbed the guy off me, and threw him to the side. He ran over, then stomped on his face a few times. The guard passed out cold, and the guy walked back up to me, offering a hand.

“Connor Riccardi… Nice to meet ya.” I grabbed his hand, and he helped me up. Charlie walked back up to us. He looked down at the guards and winced.

“What did you do to get on their bad side?” I asked him. He smirked and grabbed a spray paint bottle off his belt.

“Sprayed their precious little eye, haha. They love that thing a little too much. Me and a couple of buddies cause trouble to the guys up here. They’re nothing but harmful people, let me tell ya.” he looked down at me. “Thanks, by the way. If you weren’t here, I dunno what my mom would do. Maybe start another war?” He chuckled at my confused expression. “But we better go. You can take your truck, we’ll head to my mom’s house. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

He and I hopped in and left the guards.

“Do you know what a cult is?” he asked me. I glowered.

“Well, yeah. I know that you dummy. I know what the eye is, I’ve dealt with them before.” He gasped.

“You one of the neighbors?” I looked at him funny.

“Neighbors? I don’t live here. How do you know about this?”

“Well… My parents had to deal with them. They moved here after one of their friends died. They tell me about their stories all the time. It’s kick-ass to think about… Two guys, fighting a cult and saving some little girls.. I’ve always dreamed of such an action-packed life.”

“No, you  _really_  don’t want that.” He looked at me confused.

“What? What do you mean?”

“I…. You know about this cult? 100%? Carriers and all?” He nodded. I took a deep breath in, then let it all out.

“I  _am_  a carrier. One that escaped, along with three others. I came this way, trying to find them again. The cult’s after us, and we won’t be able to hold out much longer…” He took a moment to process it.

“Y-You escaped…” I nodded. “And there’s… there’s another rebellion?” I nodded slowly.

“Rebellion? What’s that?” Connor smiled.

“Well, whatever-your-name-is, I’ll let my parents explain.”

“Natsuki. The name’s Natsuki. Natsuki 106.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty, the series on Reddit has officially lost traction! yayy
> 
> I'm going to keep updating two a day until we reach chapter 30 of DM. Then we'll go one a day.
> 
> I'm hoping to keep a steady audience throughout the thing.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayori's father decides to meet up with old friends.

Sayori and Officer Erhler chatted up a storm in the front seat while Yuri looked out the window silently.

“I missed you so much, Papa…”

“I did too, Sayori. I’m so happy to see you again. Where’s Mr Cow…?” Yuri winced.

“W-W-Well, he’s no longer with us…” Officer Erhler looked at her in shock.

“What? What happened to Mr Cow?”

“He died… At the hands of Dr. L a while ago. I still miss him, papa. I’m always so scared without him.”

“Fucking L. I swear, each time I hear about that man, he’s done something terrible. I wish he and his family would burn.” Yuri sighed.

“W-Well, Papa… Yuri’s dad is Dr. L.” He looked back at Yuri and immediately regretted his words.

“Hell, he even put his own kid in… I’m sorry, Ms. Libitina. I didn’t mean it.” She nodded.

“It’s fine, Officer. I don’t mind it.” It grew silent.

“...Well… What happened to you after mama died, Papa?”

“I was forced to leave. I couldn’t handle her gone. In anger and sadness, I left the resistance.”

“Papa, I keep hearing about this resistance, but I’ve never seen anyone resist besides us. What happened?” Erhler chuckled.

“It was your mother, who started the resistance. Her and I actually… Used to be a part of the cult. Once your mother got a look at the true cult as one of the nurses… Well, let’s just say she wasn’t happy. She left, bringing me with. Soon enough, she convinced me that what happened in there wasn’t good. They truly were heartless bastards. She was clever, outwitting the cult and slipping right under their noses. She did this for years, going into the cult’s residence areas and turning people, gathering people in nearby towns… She got weapons from stealing things. She was a hardened criminal, fearless. That’s what I loved her for. She wasn’t afraid to stick up against the things she was against. If she hadn’t spoken up…” He looked down at Sayori.

“Let’s just say you two wouldn’t be here.”

“She used her forces to take down the cult, free Camp B carriers, whatever. She fought each battle like it was her last. Mr. Harriet hated her. Soon enough, we had shriveled down the cult to just a few areas of residence and the camps. We were so close, until… Until Dr. L joined the workforce of doctors. He was unlike any doctor we had ever seen. Cunning and sly. He seemed to counter every attack we had. He was just as cunning as Rose was. Until he had finally caught her.”

“Wasn’t I alive by then…?” Sayori asked. Officer Erhler nodded.

“You were for around three years, yes. It was difficult, but Rose took care of you while fighting. She had just made the mistake of taking you too deep in enemy lines. It was that day where I had lost hope. I was waiting outside, willing to provide any backup necessary. She was trying to get intel on the cult’s plan to build a laboratory for “human body experiments.” Cutting off limbs, attaching them to others. Disgusting work. She got overwhelmed by Dr. L. I thought you died, Sayori…”

“I thought you died too, Papa. But here we are.” Erhler smiled.

“That’s true. I gave up on the resistance and left. With no real leaders to lead them, the other guys got discouraged. They were unorganized. Many died, or became part of Camp B. So they fled too. No resistance left. With one piece gone, the puzzle just isn’t complete.” Sayori lit up.

“D-Does that mean there are other resistance members?” Erhler nodded. “They can come and help us! Help end this, once and for all!”

“Sayori, it doesn’t work like that. Plus, I’m not what I used to be.”

“I know that, silly. We could help teach them, get them back into shape! You have to let us. I can’t let Monnie die… Not when we just got her back…”

“Well… I don’t know what they’d think, going back.”

“You said they left because they were outnumbered, right? They weren’t discouraged.”

“Yes, but-”

“Perfect! With the knowledge of the carriers, plus Alex and the power of 501, we can beat them!” Yuri shriveled up in the backseat. She looked at herself in the reflection of the car window.

A black silhouette, eyes dark and blood splattered on her jacket. She looked away.

“I… I’ll try…” Greyson mumbled. Sayori cheered.

“Alright then! Where to?”

“Evergreen.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika and Alex have a little chat.

Alex sat back and sipped at his soda. Monika sat across from him. They were both still inside the house they’d broken into, with both captives tied up downstairs. He stared at Monika. Monika stared back.

“We need to try to contact the others,” Alex said, eventually. Monika scoffed.

“Right. And how are we supposed to do that?”

“We have phones and radios. We should use them.”

“Please. They’re out of range and they don’t have cell phones.”

“It can’t hurt to try, Monika.” Alex crossed his arms.

“Fine,” Monika growled. “Do it. Whatever. I’m not helping.” Alex rolled his eyes, got up, and walked to the truck.  _Heartless bitch…_ He rummaged around his backpack and found the radio inside, pulled it out, and set it to the emergency frequency Mark had told him about.

“All callsigns, this is Delta. Does anyone read, over?” No response. “All callsigns, this is Delta. Come in, over.” More static.  _Well, the damn thing isn’t exactly long-range,_  Alex thought. He tried again. “Anyone on this frequency, this is Delta. Request immediate extraction. Over.” Still nothing. He swore and stomped back inside, still carrying the radio. Monika looked at him, bored.

“Let me guess,” she said, in a smug tone. “No response.” Alex shook his head. “Told you.”

“We’re going to be here for a while,” the big Russian responded. “So we should dig in and fortify the place. Bring everything in from the truck and set it up.”

“First good idea you’ve had, Minoyan,” she said. “Come help me with this shit.” Monika stalked outside, Alex in tow. They grabbed a couple weapon cases and dragged them inside, then went back for the rest, working in silence. Perhaps two hours later, the house was fortified. The windows were boarded up, the truck was acting like a roadblock, and the doors were barricaded. The two went back downstairs.

“So, what now?” Monika asked. Alex shrugged.

“Hole up here, wait to make contact.”

“Hmph.” They just waited there in silence for what felt like an hour.

“How did you know Mark?” Monika asked, eventually. “You never told me.”

“We met in college,” Alex answered. “I was fresh out of Russia wanting to become a surgeon, he was fresh out of high school with no idea of what he wanted to do other than be some kind of doctor. The college made us roommates. End of story.”

“Oh. I thought you met in the army.”

“No.” More silence. “How did you know Mark?”

“I was his friend from high school,” Monika said. “My father didn’t want me to go to a public school, but I insisted. And that’s where I met him.”

“You know,” Alex said, “When he got to college, he was so  _lazy_. Always late to class, never made his bed, nothing. And then I see him a couple years later, and he was so–so–”

“Uptight?”

“Yes, exactly! He was so rigid when he did everything! He’d do something at a specific time, something else a specific time–like a robot!” Monika smiled for a second, then suddenly stopped.

“Yeah, I remember MC… He was interesting, heh…” Alex smiled.

“How did Mark get the nickname of MC? He never told me to call him that.”

“Little codename for when he used to work for the cult, heh.” Alex nodded.

“Interesting…”

They ended up chatting the rest of the night, drinking a bit then crashing on the living room sofas.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuki meets Connor's parents.

“So… Mom… Say hello to Natsuki! She rescued me from-”

“Connor, how many times do I tell you to stay away from strangers! It’s dangerous! Why-” She looked at Natsuki, then immediately set her stuff down. “What did she… rescue you from?”

“Um… well…”

“Connor, don’t tell me-”

“CULT PIECES OF-”

“Connor! What did I say about going towards those men?” Connor pouted like a kid. Natsuki rolled her eyes.

“You must be Mrs. Riccardi.” Natsuki held out her hand. “I’m Natsuki. Yes, I rescued him from cult guards.” Mrs. Riccardi shook Natsuki’s hand.

“Well… Thank you. I haven’t seen you around here, so who are you?” Natsuki scratched the back of her head.

“I-I’m uh…” There was an awkward few seconds of silence.

“Are you… A  _cultist?_ ” Natsuki’s eyes widened.

“Wh-What? Mrs-”

“Then get out. If you’re here just to bring my son home, I thank you. But I don’t want to associate with anyone that might be one of  _them_.”

“Mom, she’s not a cultist! Why would she save me from one if she’s one herself!” The mother did another double take on Natsuki.

“I must’ve been… assuming. I’m sorry, the clothing threw me off because of what they wore the last time I came in contact with them… Who are you?”

“I’m what you call a “resistance fighter”, heh. It’s hard to explain.”

“We have time.”

Natsuki nodded.

“-And that’s where we are right now.”

There was stunned silence. Mr. Riccardi had joined them after an hour, and so she had to start over.

Three hours later, and here they were.

“I can’t believe how much they…” Mrs. Riccardi had a hand covering her mouth. Mr. Riccardi looked distant and Connor looked like he was about to cry.

“THOSE BASTARDS!” Mr. Riccardi slammed his fist on a nearby table, making Connor flinch.

“Natsuki, I’m sorry…” She rolled her eyes.

“It’s fine. I’m still alive.”

“So you’re just going to head back and continue fighting…?” She nodded.

“I have to. I can’t leave the other people like me to die.” She stood up. “Meaning I have to get going. Thank you for the meal and hospitality. My friends are in danger. I’ll see you around… maybe.” Connor grabbed her hand.

“No! Stay, please. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.” Natsuki looked down at the kid and sighed.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I wish I could, but they  _need_  me.” Mr Riccardi now stood.

“I understand your perseverance, but you’ll get  _killed_  out there. With only you and a few others, there’s no way to win. I should know.” He looked at her, and that was the first time she noticed a scar, going down his chin and towards his neck. She faltered. “If you’re going to fight, let… let me come with you. I know just how powerful they are.” She looked at him, astonished. The man seemed in his mid-30s, but he still wanted to fight? His wife didn’t stop him.

“How many of you are there,  _willing_  to fight?” Mr. and Mrs. Riccardi looked at each other.

“Almost everyone in this area, 106.” Mrs. Riccardi whispered. They looked down at Connor and nodded. He jumped up and dragged Natsuki outside with him.

“C’mon, we need to go and tell everyone. If you’re going to fight, then so are we.” He looked scared, but he had a wild look in his eye. Natsuki nodded.

They ran for a couple of blocks, like little kids playing in the neighborhood late at night. Connor had convinced her to drive up into the mountains, but seemed worth it. She was going to get help. Not the help she wanted, but it was help.

House by house they went, Connor not even skipping a beat or second guessing himself. The resistance members seemed close, even after splitting from the war. Soon enough everyone knew of the plan–come to the town’s center tomorrow morning to brief what they would do.

Natsuki and Connor came home panting. Connor turned to Natsuki.

“So… Are you staying..?”

“Now? I bet Monika could wait.” Connor beamed.

“Hey Ma! We’re home!” He slammed the door shut and Mrs. Riccardi smiled.

“They know where to go, right?”

“Yep! Natsuki’s staying, too!”

“I’m glad. Come sit with us for dinner, Natsuki. I cooked steak tonight.”

The dinner conversation was surprisingly normal for the circumstances they were under. They talked about Connor and school, what would happen with that. Luckily, he was homeschooled. But how would the other kids work with that…?

“Hey, you guys never told me about your resistance.” Natsuki said between mouthfuls of beef. She slipped a couple of scraps to Charlie, who was waiting under the table. “How did that work…?”

“Well…” Mrs. Riccardi started. “We were cult members. Mr. Riccardi was a guard in charge of keeping the regular places safe. I was a regular clerk there. Him and I weren’t even supposed to be together according to what our cult’s priest said, haha. The only things we saw that showed abuse from the guards was when they took the carriers out and the eye was released. That’s when we would pray for safety, for ascension into its realm of peace after death. They seemed like monsters to us under their eye forms, screeching and mumbling incoherent words. What Rose, our leader, showed us was what they did. She kidnapped us and showed us stolen footage of tests and experiments. The screaming… oh my god, the screaming… and they shot them too…” She set her fork down, and walked over to Natsuki. She gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry that they hurt you like that… No one deserves that.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Riccardi. Please give me air.” She let go of Natsuki, and it took her a few seconds to wash every word out of her system. “C-Continue.”

“Anyways… We now saw what that cult really did. We were against them from that point on, because no one deserved what they did. We fought alongside that woman. How brilliant she was… I still miss her… She had a child, one that we cherished. She was named Sayori.” Natsuki almost choked on her steak. “But it made her less agile, less able. One day… She was shot. She died, along with her child. Greyson, the father was the only person able to escape alive. He was absolutely destroyed. I could see why, losing everything you love… He left us alone and we had quickly lost hope. Our casualties increased. We had to flee or risk dying. So most of us settled here, far enough away from the cult. We still see some of them from time to time, but we’ve told our kids to stay away from them. Isn’t that right,  _Connor?_ ” Connor smiled sheepishly.

“Right, heh…”

“But the resistance… continued? With you and your friends? Who rescued you again, a past doctor and a past nurse?”

“Y-Yeah. The nurse… she’s snapped without him. He died after we rescued the nurse, Monika. She’s gone cold, and there’s no one who can talk her out of it. But Sayori… the one you mention, she’s alive!” Mrs. Riccardi’s eyes widened. “She was a carrier, just like me. She escaped with us. But I don’t know where she went, after leaving with 501–Yuri, another carrier.”

“Oh, Mr. Ehrler's child is still alive… That’s beautiful…” Natsuki smiled.

“Yeah. Yuri’s father is… is Dr. L.” Mr. Riccardi winced.

“That  _monster_... her father is that monster… let me guess, he put his own daughter in as a carrier?” Natsuki nodded slowly. Mr. Riccardi growled. “Of course, the bastard enrolled his own kid… That man deserves something worse than hell.”

“I agree.”

“So does that mean I’m going to be… fighting?” Connor peeped up. Mr. Riccardi winced as he nodded. Connor looked like he was about to explode.

“Well, we’ll need the most help we can get.” They were just about done with their dinner.

“Natsuki, you can stay in the guest bedroom with your pet if you wish to.” Natsuki stretched her arms and grabbed her plate to go and set it in the sink.

“I’m going to head to sleep now if you don’t mind, Mrs. Riccardi. It’s been a long day.”

“Oh! Of course, Natsuki. Whatever you need.”

“Goodnight, everyone.”

_The next morning, town center_

“As Connor told you last night, this kid is in fact, a carrier!” Mr. Riccardi yelled to the audience, which received gasps of awe and whispers. “She’s a part of a new resistance, and needs our help! So please, if we could gather once again and fight, I’d be honored to fight alongside you again.” There was stunned silence for a few seconds.

“Without Rose… It’s just not the same, Riccardi!” One man shouted from the crowd. Natsuki winced.

“Pl-Please sir! I can’t go alone!” Natsuki yelled towards the crowd.

“James is right, John! We can’t just go out there and hurt ourselves again!” That message received several cheers, and Mr. Riccardi started to lose hope.

## ”Please, everyone! He’s right!”

Everyone turned to the old man on top of a squad car with a megaphone. There were two girls with him.

“G-Greyson? Is that you?”

“Yes it is, Liam! Yes it is…” Natsuki’s eyes widened as she saw  _Sayori_  get on top of the car and lean into her father’s megaphone.

“Listen to him, everyone! He’s right! It’s really hard for a few of our friends for us out there. They need your help, please!”

“Listen up, everyone! If you’re willing to do this, we need to get ready quick!” Sayori did a double take at Natsuki.

“Natsuki!” She jumped off the car and darted towards her friend. “You’re safe!” She almost tackled her with a hug. Natsuki chuckled.

“Yeah, and so are you and Yuri. I’ll tell you what happened later. You guys okay…?” Sayori nodded.

“I found my papa, Natsuki! He’s alive!”

“I know, heh.” Sayori looked confused, but she decided not to ask at the moment. “Everyone!” Natsuki addressed the crowd. “Rose’s legacy lives. Her daughter is still alive!” More shocked gasps were earned from the group. Natsuki brought Sayori close to her and pointed to her. “Hey Sayori, wanna say anything?”

“Yes! I’m Rose’s daughter. I’m still alive. But I promise you, I’ll be just as strong as a leader as she was. I have high hopes for you all! So… what do you say…?”

Silence.

A lump of fear stuck in Sayori’s throat.

“Let’s do it.”

Cheering erupted from the crowd. Natsuki ran over to the cop car and stepped up to the megaphone.

“So get packed up, and we’ll head out!”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika starts to dream.

Monika found herself dreaming again.

She looked around. Yet again, she was caught at that spiraling black void. Behind her was the white, calming sea. She sat at a balcony between the two.

L rose in front of her in the black void.

“What is IT, L? I’VE DONE EVERY ONE OF YOUR DEEDS, FOLLOWED YOUR WAYS. IT HAS GOTTEN ME INTO WORSE SITUATIONS WITH THAT SCOUNDREL OF A DOCTOR.” L chuckled.

“Exactly, my sheep. Soon enough, you’ll choose. You’ll destroy them all. They will all pay, isn’t that right?” Monika nodded.

“Yes. Finally. Thank you, L.” L held their hand out to pull her further. Something behind her kept her from doing it. She pulled away, turning to the white sea.

A single man, with a bullet wound, dead center on his forehead.

_”You’ll know what to do, Monika.”_

The ledge collapsed underneath her, making her spiral into the ravine in between.

Monika awoke with a start. She jumped upwards. The room was quiet. There was wind blowing through her window. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed towards her uniform.

Alex was snoring on the couch downstairs. Monika walked down into the basement.

There was the guard, staring at the wall. He stiffened as Monika stepped into the room. The owner of the house was asleep on the other side, still tied up. Monika crouched down next to him and ripped off the duct tape on his mouth.

“Hey there,” Monika whispered to him in the darkness of the room. She had a hand on his chin to keep him in place. “How’s it going?”

The guard scowled. “Great, all thanks to you Miss 126-” He was cut off by a hand wrapping around his throat. Monika leaned into his ear.

“You know I could just kill you? Right here and now? It won’t be that hard. You’ll die a slow and  _oh-so_  painful death…” The guard shivered.

“I-I’m sorry.” He croaked. Monika let go of his throat.

“So, what’s your name,  _kid_?”

“Harrison. Harrison Fernandez.”

“Nice name. You look young, right? How many years have you been a guard~?” Fernandez gulped.

“Th-These are my first few months, ma’am. I don’t know much else.”

“Mmm. And… what would you do for the eye? Would you die for it?”

“W-Well-”

“Be honest. Would you beat little girls for it?”

“I-I don’t-”

Monika got even closer.

“Would you give into the voices? Would you strip someone’s sanity for it?”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone!” He hissed. “I never have. My father, Captain Fernandez, he’d  _kill_  me if I hadn’t joined the guards! To be honest, his work seems cruel!” Monika smirked.

“Interesting. So… would you be willing to go against your father…?”

“N-No! No kid would ever go against their own father like this!” Monika giggled.

“Oh really? Because I’m  _sure_  Mr. Harriet himself would be  _pleased_  to hear that.”

“Y-You’re Mr. Harriet’s daughter?”

“Ahaha, this is getting off topic. Look kid… we don’t have much more time. Do you like your father  _beating_  little girls senseless?” He shook his head, scowling.

“I… I hate it.”

“Well…” Monika stood back up.

**”You wanna join me~?”**

Monika cut the duct tape from the guard’s arms, setting him free. “Those people are  _bastards…_  They hurt people for  _fun_. Do you want to be as heartless as them? Join me now, and you’ll be spared from what is to come.” She held her hand out. The guard was hesitant. He looked down at her hand, then back up.

That expression was enough to scare him into taking it.

“Good job~ Now come on, Alex is going to flip…”

The next morning was filled with screaming, but eventually Alex got adjusted.

“So… they just hurt those people like that…?” Monika nodded.

“Guess who was firsthand to that?” The guard pointed to her, and she smiled. “Yep~” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, Miss President here was a carrier.”

“Alex, I told you to not call me that on several occasions.”

“Uh huh.”

“D-Do you have any… side effects from being a c-carrier..?” Harrison squeaked. Monika nodded.

“Oh, of course! I have several occuring voices, including L. L’s nice, he helped me through tough shit.”

“Tough shit meaning getting her addicted to painkillers…” Alex whispered. He was elbowed in the side.

“Yeah, well it was a reward.” She turned to the slightly pale guard. “I have some nasty scars. Wanna see…?” Harrison nodded slowly. Monika rolled up her sleeve to show two huge scars up her forearms, around the same area. “Dr. L sank two hooks into my arms and made me listen to that  _disgusting_  song. Over and over…” She shivered. “Wanna see my eye~?” She pointed to her bandage eyepatch. The guard’s head screamed  _”NO!”_  but he nodded. Alex turned away.

The kid had to go and throw up for around five minutes afterwards. Monika smirked.

They spent the next day or two talking about how horrible the cult was.

The next morning, Monika burst into his room and dragged him out.

“Oh-kay, my apprentice! Time to see if you’re loyal~ And if you’re not…” Monika grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him inches from her face.

**_”I’ll see to it that you are burned alive.”_ **


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika and Alex have some visitors. A lot of visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, the longest chapter yet! Wooo!

“P-President, what I’m saying is  _true!_  Dr. Renier is launching an attack on this house tonight. Dr. L has you pinned down. I-If you leave, he’ll blow you to bits!” Monika paused, then looked over to the crates upon crates of weapons they had laying around along with the radio Alex had tried to use a week earlier.

“I’ll… I’ll think of something. Hang tight, Fernandez.” Alex ran into the room, and looked at Monika desperately.

“A-Anything, Prez?” Monika scowled.

“N-Not yet, Alex. Not yet…” She grabbed an assault rifle off the crate and hustled upstairs. “Worst case scenario… we go down fighting. Grab a weapon and come upstairs.” Alex tensed up, then looked down at one of the weapons beside the radio. It became staticy, and Alex almost jumped. He snatched it up.

“This is Delta! I am with Foxtrot at a house roughly 4.8 klicks down Halsey Road! We are surrounded by cultist forces and request immediate reinforcement, over!”

“Delta, this is Charlie. I am inbound yours with twenty-three allied shooters. Be advised, Echo and Bravo are with me. We are armed with mostly handguns, shotguns, and bolt-action rifles, coming in from the southeast, over.”

“Roger, Charlie. Get here quickly. Delta out.” Alex put the radio in a pouch on the back of an equipment harness and ran back upstairs. “Monika! The others are back, and they brought reinforcements! Coming in from the southeast!” She almost tackled Alex.

“H-How in the hell did they… You know what, I don’t care. Get them in here safely.” Alex nodded and quickly ran back downstairs.

“Charlie, this is Delta. Where are you, over?”

“Delta, this is Charlie. We are coming in from the southeast, fifty meters out, over.”

“Roger, Charlie. Move to the back porch and enter through there.”

“Wilco, Delta. Out.” Alex ran to the back door and quickly grabbed the bookcase he had in front of it, lifting it out of the way. A few seconds later, there were four knocks on the door. Alex threw it open, and right there in front of him was a police officer, weapon drawn, Sayori at his side.

“Alex!” she said excitedly. “This is my dad!”

“Come in,” Alex said. He opened the door wider, and the rest of the group filed in. “Monika! They’re here!” She rushed downstairs and stood there.

“Well, let’s defend this place.” Monika scowled at them. “Come on, let’s go! We don’t have time for this!”

“Go where?” the cop asked. “What do we–”

“What’s your name?” Alex asked.

“Greyson. Greyson Erhler.”

“Greyson, did you ever serve in the military?”

“Uh, not really. Um, I was a reservist for a while, but never actually saw any fighting.” Alex sighed.

“Close enough.” He handed Greyson an assault rifle. “Equipment harnesses in the living room. Take six magazines, get upstairs, and cover the south side. Anything within 400 meters, kill it. Sayori! Yuri! Natsuki! Come here.” They did. “Sayori, Yuri, do the same, but defend the west. Monika! Take the east. Natsuki, do you have any explosives?”

Natsuki smiled a very deadly grin. “What kinda question is that? I have a whole goodie bag here.”

Alex nodded. “Okay, make me some command-detonated directional mines and put them out there between three hundred fifty and three hundred meters. Then get back inside and defend the north, same deal as the others. I’ll cover you.” She nodded and started pulling bags full of plastique out of her rucksack.

“What about us?” A man stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

“Geoff Stahl.”

“Geoff, what weapons do you have?” The man looked around.

“A couple shotguns, some deer rifles with scopes–”

“The best marksmen get the deer rifles. Get them in the ground floor windows. Anything within two hundred meters, they kill it. Pass that on.”

Geoff nodded. “And the rest?”

“Have them take up positions wherever. Anything they can hit, they shoot at. But I don’t want them wasting valuable ammunition on airballs.” Geoff nodded.

“Okay!” he shouted. “Listen up!”

Fifteen minutes later, Natsuki rushed back inside. “Mines are primed and in place. And I made us a couple cocktails.”

“What kind?” Alex asked.

“The kind that really burn.” She grinned. Alex had learned to associate that grin with large explosions. It was one of the last things Mark had told him about the girls. “Napalm with a napalm chaser.”

“Good work,” Alex said. “Upstairs.” She nodded and rushed up.

Everyone became startled by the sudden yell.

“HELLO? I-Is this thing on?” Dr. L paused, then chuckled. Connor looked out the window to see Dr. L on top of one of the trucks with a bullhorn. “Hello again, 126! Did you miss L?” Monika scowled and cracked open the window.

“You’re no L, Doctor! I-I’ve moved past you!”

“Uh huh. Yeah. ANYWAYS! We’ve got you and that pesky bit of reinforcement surrounded. You better surrender, unless you wanna play with water again…” Monika shivered.

“I-I… N-Never, Dr. L!” She screamed with uncertainty.

“Oh? You sound unsure, so-called ‘President…’ ” Monika glared.

“I’ll be sure as hell once I have your fucking head on my wall!”

“Hah. That sounded like a threat, 126. Anywho, surrender! 105, I know you’re in there too, pumpkin~” Yuri balled her fists. Sayori put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Dr. L, you prick! Yuri doesn’t wanna see you right now!” Sayori yelled out the window.

“‘Kay. Anyways, yada yada yada, you know what to do…” Monika watched him climb down from the roof of the truck and sit in the passenger seat patiently.

She put the sights of the rifle on his head and pulled the trigger.

The bullet missed him, blown by a gust of wind, but Monika could see Dr. L’s eyes widen, seeing him duck and start shouting. Guards started coming out of the trees, and she heard Alex shooting from downstairs, a steady rhythm in tune with hers. Guards fell, but more of them kept right on coming. They kept getting closer, until–

Alex could  _feel_  the shockwave of the explosion.  _Cyka blyat!_  he thought.  _Just how much plastique did Natsuki bring? That looked like a ten-pound charge!_  Another blast.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FLEE, YOU MAGGOTS! FLEE!” Natsuki was cackling as she detonated the next charge.  _Packing that much plastique was a pain in the ass, but *_ so** worth it,* she thought to herself. She dialled the next number on the list, and a massive gout of flame tore forward into three or four advancing guards. “BURN, YOU SONS OF BITCHES! BURN!”

Connor looked at Alex with a nervous look on his face. “IS SHE–” he yelled, over the intensely loud sound of the gunfire and bombs.

“YES!” Alex yelled back, still shooting. His magazine ran empty, the bolt locking back, and he knelt back down behind the wall, tossing the empty away, grabbing a fresh thirty-rounder from a magazine pouch on his harness, slapping it into the gun, and then hitting the bolt release with the palm of his hand. The whole process took maybe two and a half seconds. Connor watched, amazed. He started to do the same, then realized he had a shotgun. Which still held a full seven shells. He resumed watching as Alex resumed shooting.

“Echo, this is Charlie! Contact north! Need another shooter up here, over!”

“Roger, Charlie,” Sayori said, in a cool, dispassionate voice. “Inbound yours, over.”

The massive boom of a hunting rifle made Connor jump. The shooter threw the bolt and shot again. Connor turned, seeing a guard fall.  _Fuck yeah!_  he thought.  _Everyone’s getting theirs, we’re kickin’ ass and takin’ names! I’m next!_  He saw a guard approach and fired his shotgun, making a massive echoing boom. Everyone was shooting now, just lighting up the whole north and east sides of the house. He was gleeful as he shucked the pump and fired again.  _We’re getting some now!_  he thought.

And then he got shot in the ass.

“OW! FUCK!” he screamed. Alex turned and fired,  _bangbangbangbangbang_ , driving the guard back until one of the resistance members finished him with a shotgun blast. He rushed over to Connor, who was rolling on the floor clutching his backside. Alex decided to dispense with the usual ‘where are you hit?’ and just pack the wound with gauze, which he did while Connor screamed. He slapped a dressing over the wound and ran over to the west side of the house, shooting on the move.

“Delta, this is Foxtrot! The doctors and the guard commander are bailing!” Monika used the radio, but Alex could hear her shouting anyway.

“Do not repeat do not pursue! We have one wounded and will be unable to support you!” Alex could feel the floor shake as Monika screamed something very unprintable. “Foxtrot, acknowledge!”

“Roger!” Monika screamed. The incoming fire was starting to slacken. The guards were retreating too. Of course, there were only five or six left, but even still. Natsuki cut one down with a claymore, shredding him with a hundred nails moving at thousands of feet per second, turning his legs into pink mist. He howled in pain, and his squadmates dragged him off the field. Sayori shot them both dead.

Then, everything paused.

A distant roar echoed across the battlefield, knocking everyone silent.

Natsuki could hear loud, earthquake-like footsteps coming closer by the millisecond.

_Just like the-_

She saw the thing roll curled up in a ball like some form of Sonic creepypasta she would see online. The arms reached thirty feet forward, grabbing a fighter out of one of the windows and throwing them fifty feet into the air. Guards started regrouping and coming back. Fighters besides Natsuki peppered the amalgamation with gunshots. She growled, then grabbed one of the molotovs off a nearby crate. She grabbed her cigarette lighter out of her pocket, then lit the cloth at the top.

“BULLETS AIN’T GONNA WORK ON THAT THING, TRUST ME!” She tossed the bottle at her…  _parents_  and watched as it lit up in flames. She couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry. It was her parents that she was trying to harm… The glass smashed against one of the nine heads, piercing their mushed skull and making the head go limp. The other eight shrieked in horror. A section of limbs went limp. Natsuki got an idea.

**Natsuki’s POV**

If I just get close enough… Maybe… Well, the head wasn’t moving again… Bah! Natsuki, now’s not the time to be thinking that way! Just get out there and stab the rest of those heads, you dummy! I grabbed a knife off the table then like the psychopath I am, jumped out the window. Monika screamed at me.

“NATSUKI, YOU’RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED YOU DUMBASS-” I hit the ground with a thud. Pain shot up my leg, but I kept going. I looked back at Monika, who was shouting orders. Within seconds, fighters lined the windows again and shot the guards down one by one. I snatched  _The Nemesis_  from its holster and fired at a guard readying his shotgun to shoot at me and advancing. He hit the ground. I looked up to see a massive bundle of green, mushy skin swinging at me. I jumped back. Another arm raised to smash me like a bug. Too easy, buddy… I rolled to the side as soon as the arm smashed down, then jumped onto it.

The head closest growled at me in annoyance and tried to shake me off. I stumbled, but held myself with an iron grip. I climbed back on. That poor head had little time to react before I plunged the knife into its forehead. The thing went limp before I knew it, splattering me with some form of green slime. Ugh… I resisted the urge to vomit. I was on top of the tangled ball of body parts now, clutching onto loose pieces of flesh. Two guards lined up their rifles. I ducked under one of the arms and used it as cover as they fired. I still had some molotovs with me on my belt, haha… I grabbed one along with the lighter, lit it and chucked it.

“TAKE THIS YOU CULTIST SWINES!” I roared. A blast of warm air hit my face as the molotov went off. Tons of screaming. That’s what you get!

Then I realized I was still on a giant fucking colossus.

Shit.

The thing spun like a tornado as I held on for dear life. Oh, come on mom! After I just got sprayed by one of your little friends,  _this_ is how you repay me? Are you kidding?

Well… I mean, I can’t blame her. I am trying to kill her.

Seven left.

I struggled to get to the top as this merry-go-round from hell spun me like a tabletop. The wind around me roared. My grip stayed strong. There were two heads, lined up mere feet in front of me. I lunged forward. My leg stung burned from when I landed on it. I shrugged it off and continued onwards. They stopped spinning and the the two connected heads snapped their rotted, chipped teeth at me. Slobber pecked at my face and I gagged. I jumped forward and slashed downwards, knocked both heads off at the same time. Brain matter and spinal fluid sprayed all over me. I rubbed the grey fluid out of my eyes. What is it, like five left? Huff. I better get some form of praise here, Monnie…

Half of the body went limp as it fell. I jumped off before it could fall on me, then did a roll to make sure I didn’t injure my other leg, then stood back up, knife in my hands and crouched, ready to pounce. The beast wildly flailed around its arms, trying to rebalance itself and get back up. I never even noticed the arm that grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me closer.

I stumbled as it dragged me up into the air towards its jaw, head first. In a panic I reached up to try and pull my leg out but realized it was a dumbass idea to do it, because if I broke free I’d fall straight into the thing’s mouth. I looked up at the arm, which had a very loose piece of long skin. I reached for The Nemesis on my belt.

I’m insane.

I shot the arm, which reflexively dropped me. One of the loose strings of flesh separated from the whole arm itself. As I fell, I grabbed the string and held on with one hand. The ravenous head below me spit out old chunks of its old ligaments as I dangled above. I pulled myself up and started swinging, trying to get to a flat surface on this carnival from the eye itself. My momentum was enough to get me to safety right before the chunk of flesh could reconnect itself and leave me to die. I sprinted towards the head that just tried to kill me. It snapped at me and I ducked under, then slashed upwards from the chin to the top of the head. I paused to assess my situation. It’s like fighting some giant.

The next head was trying to hide itself within coils of its own old body parts. I scoffed.

“Not today, buddy!” And being an absolute madman, I chucked the knife at its forehead. I heard the sploosh as the metal connected with mush. One final screech and another few tentacles of flesh collapsed. I dodged a few swings from other arms and snatched the knife up, quickly brushing off some of the slime that was left.

One head came at me jaws first, revealing some orange, chipped teeth snapping for my head. I sidestepped and put my grip on a loose strand of veins, pulling it down like a disobedient dog with a collar. I wondered what this man did to become this… Looking at his eyes… Sure, they were dull, but they told me a story. A story about a man who had lost everything. They seemed full of despair. I kneeled down and raised the knife above his head.

“Be with the stars.” I whispered to him.

With one final strike, they died, going limp on their own body of ligaments. My… My parents are left. I couldn’t find any heads in sight on the body. I huffed and wiped a bead of sweat off my brow. The fight raged on beside me as resistance fighters gave me cover. Something grabbed my leg.

Well… I found my parents.

One head poked out from its hiding spot. It was my father, his eye sockets sunken and his short, messy hair greasy and soaking wet.

“ _y_ Ou tHINK yo **U**  ARE above th _IS_?” He growled. “YoU  _ARE J_ UsT aS incompetent as  **SHE**  iS! yO _U_  wILL NEVER bE a _bov_ e the EYe!” The tentacle that latched onto my leg dragged me towards some mangled up bones that resembled spikes. I tried pulling away, grab a loose piece, anything. I stabbed my knife into the ground to try and stop myself, but it only ended up in me losing my knife. Shit! Without my knife, I can’t  _kill_  him! I looked at the bit of flesh attached to my leg, that held me with a death grip. I was getting closer. My father’s amalgamated face, pulling into an insane smirk. His jaw was open and he was cackling. I grunted as I got even closer.

_”Your father was the single most disgusting man I had ever met. He got what he deserved.”_

_”Your dad…? That’s heartless. A man like that, taking someone so weak like that…”_

_”Still, he was loyal to the eye… Useful. He gave that useless carrier something she’d never forget.”_

My fist closed around the last molotov bottle. I grabbed my lighter.

I have never seen a flame glow so bright.

“TH-THIS IS FOR ALL THE CARRIERS THAT WERE EVER HURT! THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER! THIS IS FOR CHIRU!” I shrieked.

“I HOPE THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF HELL AREN’T EVEN ENOUGH FOR YOU.” My father seemed to realize his fate as soon as I threw the bottle.

Time seemed to stop. Gunfire turned into little pops. I savored my father’s look change from a triumphant smirk to a horrified visage.

_FWOOOSH!_

The glass shattered against his head. He arose in flames, gasping and screeching on the ground. His head rolled as he tried to put the fire out. I picked the knife up and walked over to his head, where his skin was starting to melt.

“y _O_ u… *YOU!” He grunted. I stood over him with the knife. The once terrifying amalgamation of heads was now a pile of lifeless limbs. I put a foot on his cheek and he growled weakly.

“You really deserve worse.” I whispered. “After… After putting  _her_  in such turmoil because of your personal needs… I should keep you alive and put you through what both myself and my mother had been through…” I raised my knife above his head and he tried shrinking back. My foot kept him in place.

 **”I hope you continue to burn in hell.”**  I stabbed downwards. In one satisfying screech, he shriveled away. I got some more slime on my jacket.

Great, something else to wash off.

“N-Natsuki…” Something croaked out to me. “Come… Come here… Please…” I looked over, seeing the last head,  _my mother,_ weak and on the floor. I rushed over and propped her back up.

“I-If I had knew…” I sniffled. “If I had known you were my mother, then I would’ve helped you sooner… I’m sorry, mom.” She sighed and smiled with her cracked lips.

“It’s… Okay, Natsuki. You did what you had to.” I shook my head.

“N-No… what he did… No one deserves that. I know your pain, mom. I’m going to take this place down, one by one. All for you. I’ll avenge what they did to you.” She chuckled.

“Th-Thank you… You’ll go far… Learn from what they did to us.” I smiled and pressed my forehead to hers.

“You’re free now. Free from this torment. You’ll be up in the stars.”

“I’ll be watching you, my Natsuki… I’ll be watching…” I grabbed the knife.

“I-I’m sorry I couldn’t talk for longer, mom…” She simply nodded.

“That’s okay. You must go now. You saved me, Natsuki. Thank you…” A single tear rolled down her cheek. I raised the knife above her head.

“I’m so proud of you.” was her last words.

I laid the head down and wiped the sweat from my brow. Battle continued on.

“106!” A voice called to me. Within the smoke. I saw Dr. Renier emerge. “Good to see ya!” I quickly stood back up.

“Renier, I don’t have time for this.”

“I know, sweetie. I know. But! You killed one of our strongest war machines, and that’s a big no-no in my book!” She put a gun to my head. I simply stuffed my hands into my pockets and smirked.

“Go ahead. Do it. Just know that there’s about ten other guns pointed at you right now.” She looked up at the windows of resistance fighters, then gulped.

“Hey there!” Connor yelled from the floor. “You’re pretty fucked!” Her stance became unbalanced. Perfect.

I pounced, slashing my knife upwards. She stumbled back. There was a nasty gash on her cheek.

“Haha, two for two!” I chuckled. Haha, classic Trennor…

“You’ll… You’ll  _pay_  for this, 106. Just you wait…” Her pistol raised again.

_BANG!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PL-DM Natsuki by DakuTT on Reddit! You're the best, dude!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The resistance talks leadership roles.

The house was now in a major desolate area, with bullet holes and craters everywhere. Natsuki was dragged inside for immediate medical care with Dr. Minoyan, considering she was shot in the arm. Both Dr. Renier and Dr. L got away, along with the rest of the guards who had left with them. There were people setting up camp outside of the home while others de-mined the outside. Inside, they had formed a makeshift meeting area in the living room with foldable tables and chairs. Monika sat at the end while the rest of the girls sat next to her. Officer Erhler and Sayori sat on the other side.

“I don’t see why having her be leader is the problem! She’d fit in much more than you.” Erhler yelled. Monika put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. She smiled.

“What makes you think that, old man~?” The officer’s eyes widened.

“Y-You…” Another resistance member rose his hand.

“I-If I may add, Officer… It’s Captain Sayori’s choice on what she wants.” All eyes went to Sayori, who snapped out of her trance and laughed sheepishly.

“W-Well… I think that I’m not… that good of a leader…”

“B-But, Sayori-”

“I do have a candidate. Hey, Alex!” Everyone’s eyes turned to the Russian now. “I, leader of the rebellion, now put you in charge!” Alex almost spit out his bottle of vodka.

“–Excuse me, what? I, uhm…” He looked to Monika. She smiled, but he could tell she wanted to rip him up into fifty tiny pieces.

“Well then I, Captain Alex, leader of the rebellion…” Monika’s fist was shaking. “Hereby… promote Monika Harriet… to  _Major…_ ” Several gasps were heard.

“YOU IDIOT, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Officer Erhler hissed. Natsuki winced and Yuri facepalmed. Several people looked ready to protest, but Monika slammed a fist into the table, causing everyone to go silent.

“Okay,  _everyone…_  as my  _first_  decision as leader… I demote Alex to chief warrant officer. Greyson is now promoted to Captain.” Alex scowled, but that was the end of it. Officer Erhler unballed his fist.

“I… thank you, Major.” Erhler promptly stood up and walked out of the room, silently. Alex stood as well.

“Yeah… thanks,  _Miss President…_ ” He stormed out of the room.

“No problem, Minoyan.”


	22. Journal Entries, Part 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika decides to take Alex's advice.

First off, fuck you. I can deal with emotions just fine.

Second off, I’m throwing this out as soon as I’m done. Again, fuck you.

Being Major is fun as shit… Bossing people around, being your own boss… It’s nice. Everyone seems to hate me… Good.

~~Soon it’ll rise~~

I can’t get these thoughts out of my head… he keeps speaking, traveling through me. I want you  _gone._

~~Don’t escape it~~

I keep seeing things… Maybe it’s because one eye can’t sustain me. Too bad. One of the people I hear is named M. Just M, like L. Except much more annoying. Meddling with our plans, keeping me from doing what I have to. I see them all the time. Streak of blood on their forehead. Really creepy. I get a deja vu feeling around him.

~~What she’s doing is child’s play.~~

Alex got me a piano for my birthday. He says it’ll “help” me. Okay. Sure. I started playing around with some of the keys to get a feel for it. I actually played piano… with my…

Fucking swear to god, should I throw out the piano or keep it? Make up your mind.

Yeah, I know basics. Alex wants me to keep going with the piano. He’s forcing me. Well, if he insists… I  _have_  been starting on an original piece… Maybe I’ll show him that way.

_You took it all away so now this hero cries in pain._

Lyrics are fun.

Anyways, fuck you Alex, I gotta go. Fuck you again.

-Monnie

~~-XXXXXX~~


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika draws some conclusions to her voices.

—-

The man was back.

Monika stared at him. He was sitting on a stump by the creek they’d set up camp at, rifle in his lap. Alex and Natsuki had gone out to hunt, and Sayori and Yuri weren’t back yet, so she was all alone at the camp. The man still had his helmet off, exposing his brown–Monika could see it was brown now–hair. He was reading a sheet of paper in his hand intently.

“Hey!” she yelled. “Do you talk?! At all?!” The man turned his head, and–

_No._

_It’s not him._

_IT CAN’T BE!_

But it clearly was. The face and eyes looking at her were unmistakably Mark’s. She could see some dried blood around his forehead. He kept turning, slowly, and Monika could see the hole in his head, a bloody dot smack-dab in the middle. He folded up the paper, put it in his pocket, grabbed his gun, and stood up, facing her, smiling.

_But–I buried him! I-I saw him die! I WAS RIGHT THERE!_

She heard grass crunching behind her, and spun around, weapon leveled. “Twenty-one!” she shouted.

“Pilots!” Alex shouted back. She lowered her gun. The big Russian had a deer slung over his shoulders, and Natsuki had two rabbits in hand, both grinning proudly. “We brought food!” Monika nodded and shook her head.

“Okay. Um, ‘Suki, could you go start to get the rabbits ready? I need to talk to Alex, okay? I’ll be right there.”

“Okay, Monika,” Natsuki said. She skipped off, happily. Alex laid the deer down and sat on the same stump MC had sat on.

“Talk to me, Monika. What is it?”

She took a shaky breath in. “Is–is there maybe–is it possible Mark is still alive?”

“No,” Alex whispered. “I wish there was, but…” He sighed. “There was an entry wound, but no exit wound. The bullet could get in, but not out, so it probably bounced around his skull, just shredding the brain. I’m sorry, but nothing can save you from that. Maybe if Mark had a more modern helmet, he could have lived, but…” Alex shook his head. “He’s dead. You buried him yourself.”

_”Good riddance.”_

_SHUT *_ UP* _, L!_

“Y-yeah,” Monika said. “It’s just–I–” She sighed. “What’s with those helmets, anyway?” she asked. “They’re for skaters, not soldiers.” Alex frowned.

“All we could get on short notice,” he said. “Besides, it was good enough for your Delta Force in the nineties, it’s good enough for us now.” Monika smirked.

“Right, she said, dismissively, and stalked off to go help Natsuki.

Later that night, while the other two slept, Monika sat on the stump, looking out at the water. “MC…” she whispered. “If you’re out there… Don’t keep me waiting–”

“Waiting for what?”

Monika fell off the stump. “Y-you–”

“Yes, me,” Mark said. He looked exactly like he did the day of the raid that saved her, helmet on, rifle across his chest, black body armor and vest stuffed with grenades and magazines. “But forget me, what about you? No, don’t answer that. I’ve been watching.”

“I–I thought you were dead!” Monika said.

“I am.” Mark sighed. “Unfortunately.” He took his helmet off. Monika could better see the hole in his head now.

“So…”

“No, I haven’t seen Jesus, or the devil, or God, or know who got it right. When I died, I just kinda popped out of my body, wearing all the stuff I died with. Then you buried me, and I got all of the stuff you buried me with. Followed you around, just watched you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. You need to stop, Monnie.”

“Why? Because I’m doing so much better than you? The student besting the teacher? The big mean Army man can’t stand to get beat by a girl?”

“Because you don’t care who dies. I don’t even think you care if you bite it,” he said, angry.

“Oh, yeah? Why’s that? Because you’ve got a direct connection into my head?”

“Jesus christ, we were friends for twelve years, Monnie. You’re an open book to me. And you’re different. Why? Why’s that?”

“Because I want those fuckers to burn. I want them to die. I want them to feel what I felt when I lost my  _eye_!” she shouted. “Because I  ** _hate_**  them!”

“Really? They’re the ones you hate?” He scoffed. “Seriously?”

“Yes!”

“Bullshit. You just keep on pressing on, and whoever dies, dies.”

“Yes!”

“Mhm. Yeah. Because you hate the cult more than anyone here. Because you hate them more than you hate the others, right?”

“I don’t hate the others,” she said, in a small voice. “I don’t…”

“Then who? Because the only reason to do the things you’ve been doing is if you hate someone so much you want ‘em to die. So who is it, Monnie? Who’s the big fuck-up?”

“Stop.”

Mark didn’t stop. He kept pressing on, a smirk on his lips. “Come on, Monnie, you can tell me. Who’s the trash? Who’s the idiot who can’t get anything right? Hm? C’mon. Who’s the one making you do all this–”

 ** _”ME!”_**  Monika screamed. She started to cry, and Mark looked shocked. “Me. It’s me. I–I can’t get anything right. I got captured, I–I gave in, I–I–”

“What?” Mark asked, much gentler now.

“I got you killed,” she whispered, tears streaming from her eye. “You died because of me.”

“Wow,” Mark said. “That, right there, is the single most incorrect thing I’ve ever heard.” Monika’s head snapped up.

 _”He. *_ Lies.** My sheep, do not listen.”*

_Go away, L…_

“See, here’s the thing. I was a Ranger and a Green Beret. High-risk professions. I could have died so many different ways. A parachute that didn’t open, a helicopter that crashed, a suicide bomber, even friendly fire. But those didn’t kill me. I didn’t die in the Middle East, I didn’t die training to fight. I died in the Colorado backwoods. Why?” He took a breath.

“Monika, I died because I made a choice of my own free will to go and get you out. I died because–because I loved you. I still do. I died because you were worth dying for.” He smiled. “Monika, I didn’t die  _because_  of you. I died  _for_  you. I gave my life so you could have a chance, and I’d gladly do it twice. And look what you’re doing with it.”

Monika started to open her mouth in protest, tears still falling, but Mark just talked over her. “You’re getting into firefight after firefight, and you don’t care if a stray bullet just so happens to end it all for you. You’re not gonna kill yourself, but you wouldn’t mind dying, and you don’t care who dies with you as long as you take the cult down too. You’re pushing away anyone who might help, because you just can’t  _stand_  to admit you need help. Honestly, the fuck? This is what I died for? I gave my life so you could destroy yours? Come on.”

“You can’t–you–”

“Can’t what?” Mark asked. “Can’t know what you’re going through? No shit. I’ll never know, I’ve never been tortured. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen. Monnie, I love you, okay? And it hurts to see you do this. Because I  _know_  you know what you’re doing. Please, stop it. You’re–” He stopped.

“I’m what?” Monika asked, through a runny nose and tear-streaked cheeks.

“You’re starting to remind me of Dr. L,” Mark admitted.

_”Good.”_

_Fuck off._

Monika sighed. “Mark, I–I can’t just… stop. Okay, maybe I’ve been fighting it the wrong way, but–but I can’t just–I can’t leave it be. They’ve taken too much from us. From the girls. They–they have to die. They have to.”

“Fine,” he said. “But at least let me help you. I finally figured out how to talk to you, so I can make plans, give tips, call out ambushes–I can help, alright?”

“I–I don’t know… “

“Look, if you won’t let me help you, at least ask Alex. He was in the Russian military, Spetsnaz. Part of the 45th Guards Brigade and Alpha Group. He knows his way around a rifle and he has combat experience. Let him help you, then.” He sighed sadly. “But stop shutting people out, okay? It’s only hurting you.”

Monika stayed silent. Mark tried to hug her, but his arms went straight through her. He chuckled and stepped back. “Go get some sleep, okay?” Monika nodded, and Mark started to walk off.

“Wait!” Monika shouted. “Where are you going?”

Mark turned and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back.” He winked.

_”He lies.”_

_Go away…_

And then he was gone.

Monika sat there, looking at the air where he used to be. She walked back to her tent and slipped inside, pulling the sleeping bag over her shoulders.

Finally, she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, this fanfiction sucks! :D


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika needs some new weapons for her resistance. Alex knows just where to get them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, dETAIL
> 
> Anyways, written by u/Steve_Must_Die on reddit. He's pretty awesome.

“ _Damn it!_ ” Monika yelled. “Don’t you have some way to get us guns, Alex?!”

“Major, we’ve been over this,” Alex said, using the rank for the benefit of the resistance members around her. “Yes, I can get us some firearms, but it won’t be enough to outfit any more than 30 of us. That’s not enough. Even counting the battlefield salvage we took–which is terrible for light infantry–I’d barely be able to get us enough to last a week.”

“There might be another way,” Greyson said. “Vince, any armories we might be able to raid? Cult supply routes, police SWAT teams, anything?”

“No, sir.” Vince said. “Nothing. Nothing easy for us to hit, anyways.”

Monika swore something rather unprintable. “Damn it…Captain, dismissed.” The resistance members filed out. Alex stayed.

“Monika, even arming one platoon can help–”

“But what about the other two? The shit they have isn’t enough. It’s just not. Deer rifles and shotguns will not do, Alex.”

“I understand, but–”

“We need materiel for at least two platoons, Chief Warrant. Get me those guns.” Alex sighed. If Monika was calling him by rank, she was really pissed.

“Yes, president,” he said, striding out, leaving her alone.

“You know, Capiletti’s wrong.” Monika nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Mark, what the hell! Don’t scare me like that!” Mark just smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

“You should be,” Monika muttered. “Anyway, what’s he wrong about?”

“There is an armory you can hit. Best of all, it’s got all sorts of fun toys.”

“Define fun,” Monika said.

“Light and medium mortars, machine guns of all kinds, grenade launchers and grenade machine guns, antitank rocket launchers, night vision, body armor, you name it.” Mark smiled.

“Okay…” she said. “What and where?”

“You can get all that from a Special Forces armory located down in Watkins. It belongs to the 5th of the 19th. They’re National Guard, but they’ve still got all kinds of quality gear.” He pointed to the map on the table that everyone had been studying. “Right here, at Watkins Armory. It’s lightly defended, only one platoon of MPs–”

“MPs?”

“Sorry. Military police. Anyway, only forty of those, and the support and headquarters guys on weekends. Easy to knock over. In and out, quick and dirty, 100% nonlethal. All done in an hour.”

“How?” Monika looked at Mark like he was nuts. “How do we do it?”

“Simple. Kit up Alex, yourself, the girls, and one platoon with gas masks, sidearms, batons, flashbangs, and tear gas grenades. Use the tear gas to incapacitate the MPs, knock ‘em down and cuff ‘em, then break into the warehouse, ammo dump, and motor pool. Don’t bother driving in, just rock up on foot and take the vehicles from the motor pool to exfil. You’ll need those to carry the stuff you take anyway.”

“Okay, how many vehicles?”

Mark thought for a second. “Ten 2.5-ton trucks, twenty Humvees.”

“ _WHAT?!_ ” Monika’s eyes widened.

“Monika, calm–”

“That’s insane!” she shouted. “How the hell are we gonna move that gagglefuck–”

“You don’t,” Mark said calmly. “Split it into four or five individual convoys. They all get back in different ways, but they still get back.”

Monika frowned. “How will we know what to take? I mean, I know you taught Yuri about mortars and machine guns and stuff, and you made Natsuki into, well–”

“A top-flight ordnance technician?”

“A maniac who makes plastic explosives out of bleach and vaseline for fun,” Monika said, smiling. “But how would I know what to take?”

Mark thought for a second. “Only you can see me. I’ll point to stuff and tell you to grab it, relay whatever orders you need, stuff like that. Pretend you’re wearing an earpiece, and I’m the voice on the other end.”

 _And me. Don’t forget me, my sheep,_  L crooned. Mark frowned.

“L again?”

“I don’t get why you’re so–”

“ **He is the worst possible voice in your head!** ” Mark screamed. “All he does is whisper  _KILL!_  in your ear, and you obey! Jesus christ!”

“I’m not having this argument right now,” Monika said, annoyed. “Just tell me how to do it specifically.”

“Fine,” Mark said, walking over. “But we  _will_  have it. Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I don’t care anymore.”

“Mark, just make the plans–”

“Okay, fine,” he said. “Pull up Google Maps and I’ll show you how to do it.”

After two or so hours, the plan was complete. All that was left was to get the gear to do it with. Monika summoned Greyson, his assistants, and Alex back to the planning room and ran down the basic plan for them.

“I like it,” Alex said. “It’ll be tough, but doable. Who will go?”

“Us and 1st Platoon,” Monika said.

“I’m not sure about the no lethal force part,” Greyson said. “I don’t know that we can actually take all those people prisoner.”

“I am,” Alex said. “The tear gas and flashbangs will make them disoriented and stunned. We hit them, push them onto the ground, and tie their hands. Simple.”

“But tear gas drills–”

“Captain,” Alex said, “No. Just...no. Those drills have no semblance of reality to them, and do not also include flashbangs. It will work.”

“If you say so,” Greyson said, dubiously. “Alright, go get our stuff.” Alex nodded and walked out to his truck, driving it down to a town called Golden. He had a friend there, one he did odd jobs for. It was why he had the surgical equipment at his house–every now and then, the friend would send him someone who had been hurt. Alex just had to patch them up and send them on their way, no questions asked, and he’d get paid. Sometimes five grand, sometimes fifty. He got a full quarter of a million dollars once, for patching up some young gut-shot kid. Alex thought it was the son of one of the  _mafiya_  bosses Anatoly worked for–where the fuck else could you get that kind of cash?–but he couldn’t be sure.

He parked the truck in front of the building and walked to the door. There was a guard there, a big man in a tracksuit, who was trying to look intimidating. Alex was bigger, so it didn’t work. “I’m here for Anatoly Borisovich,” he said. The guard nodded and spoke Russian into a radio.

“Big man here for the boss,” he said.

“Send him in,” came the reply. The guard stepped aside, and Alex walked in, moving along the familiar route to the office. He opened the door, seeing Anatoly sitting behind a desk, waiting.

“Alexander Sergeyevich!” Anatoly said, in Russian. Yes, the feds could translate it, but it was a pain in the ass to do, and there was no point in making things easy for the G-men, was there? “Tovarisch, how the hell have you been? It’s been a while since your last patch job!”

“I’m doing just fine, Anatoly Borisovich! I do need a favor, though.” Anatoly scoffed.

“No favors, you know that! It will cost you, but I’m sure I can make it cheap. What do you need?”

Alex told him.

“Fucking hell, did you go merc? Finally start using those Spetsnaz skills for someone with cash?” Anatoly shook his head. “Alexander Sergeyevich, I would love to help, but that would expose us to an unacceptable degree of risk! You know I can’t do that!”

“Five hundred thousand US.”

“Did I say I couldn’t? Because I can now.” Alex internally smiled.  _Same old Anatoly…_  “Meet me with the cash at the docks in Denver. I’ll have your equipment. All of it.”

After a few hours and a near miss with the State Police, the resistance had everything they needed and were ready to raid.

“Sharkman Six One, in position.”

“Sharkman Five One, in position.”

“Alpha, in position. Standby,” Monika said. She turned to Yuri. “Listen. When you get inside that warehouse, remember that I’m gonna need you to help pick out what stuff to take on the trucks. Mortars and machine guns, mostly. And keep Natsuki from going nuts, okay? Because when she gets crazy, the results have kiloton yields.”

“Given that she outranks–” Yuri stopped, seeing the look in Monika’s eye. “Wilco.”

Monika slowly exhaled and looked at Mark, looking proudly at the group. She raised an eyebrow, and he gave the thumbs-up.

“Five, four, three, two, one,  _execute, execute, execute!_ ” Monika shouted over the radio. Even before she had finished the third execute, there were deafening booms and blinding flashes, with thick white smoke everywhere. She quickly donned her mask and rushed to the gate. An MP was staggering around, deaf and blind, and she threw him to the ground. Alex simply tackled another one, and the platoon behind them stormed forward, yelling as loud as they could through the gas masks. The resistance force quickly split up. Natsuki opened the doors up with a breaching charge, and they stormed in, quickly knocking down anyone inside and cuffing them. Shouts of “clear!” echoed throughout, until the “all clear!” call came from the lieutenant in charge.

Monika looked around in wonder. There were open shipping containers and pallets of anything all around. She walked over to one of the containers, seeing what looked like olive drab tubes stacked inside. “60 mike-mike mortars,” Mark said. “Great for on-the-go fire support. They need these.”

“Mortars over here!” Monika yelled. “Bravo! Look for more and stack them by the door!”

“Wilco!” Yuri yelled back. “You there! Start that now!”

Natsuki was like a kid in a candy store, looking around. Her eyes stopped on a pallet of C4, 200 pounds worth. She started to laugh uncontrollably. “Sergeant Allen!” The platoon sergeant tapped her on the shoulder. “Stop it. You’re freaking us all out.” Natsuki stopped.

“Fine, but make sure you take that pallet and at least three others like it.” She pointed to a corner of the warehouse. “I think there’s some handcarts over there.” The platoon sergeant started barking orders, and four or five resistance members moved to grab those

“This is Delta!” Alex yelled over the radio. “Orange!” That meant the ammo dump was secure. “Stacking cases of ammo now. If you’ve got any .50s, we’ve got a lot of ammo for them, over!”

“Roger, Delta,” Yuri said. “Does anyone see any other mortars?”

“Over here!” Someone waved at Yuri, and she jogged over.

“This is Echo. I pass green and blue, over.” The convoys were starting to form, and a deuce-and-a-half was in front of the warehouse.

“Roger, Echo,” Natsuki said. “I’ve got a few pallets of C4 here, and Bravo has some mortars. Can you help us load those, over?”

“Can do, Charlie,” came Sayori’s reply. Two resistance members rushed inside and started wheeling the pallets to the trucks, while two more picked up mortar parts and did the same.

“Alpha, this is Bravo,” came Yuri’s voice.

“Go ahead, Bravo,” Monika said.

“Alpha, I’ve got a whole bunch of body armor and night vision here. Could use some help carrying it, over.”

“Roger, Bravo. I and two others are coming to you, over.”

“Thanks, Alpha. Bravo out.”

As time went on, more and more trucks arrived and were piled full of weapons. Eventually, they were filled up, as were the Humvees. “Okay!” Alex shouted. “Load up and let’s get the fuck out of this place!” The resistance boarded their vehicles, some with only one driver, some with an additional navigator or radioman, and drove off for home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve's words: The armory in this chapter has been deliberately made to be different from the real thing. I’m not writing a how-to-get-murder-tools guide here.


End file.
